


Unexpected Love

by Fluffauthor



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (Yeah it's overdone), Alternate Universe - High School, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, He's not alien but his mom married one, I write for the ultimate rarepair, I'll probably give him his galran arm later, M/M, Peaceful galra, Sex used to be there but rest assured it will come later, Shiro has organic arms initially, Though still violent in other areas, Violence but I don't really describe it in gross detail
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2018-11-23 17:02:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 65,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11406714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffauthor/pseuds/Fluffauthor
Summary: Shiro is a human transfer student that starts to get bullied daily by Sendak and his cronies. But could something between them change and spark a romance?





	1. The rough start

Shiro had never fit in at the school, keeping to himself mostly, beyond teachers calling on him a few times. His grades weren't bad, but he couldn't make them as well as the others could. After getting used to human teachings, such as mathematical equations or earth biology, he struggled to keep up with galran studies. He couldn't even make many friends, his status as the only human in that high school singled him out as 'different'. The few friends he did have were like pity ones, they only were nice out of a need to be nice to the human. But rarely did he ever find himself being their focus, not that he needed it at all times, but he tended to be ignored in group outings.

He wasn't entirely sure in letting himself try to talk to others. He didn't have many interests, only human related things would be in his conversations. He didn't care much about galran tv shows, though he could understand them through a translating ear device. Maybe it was out of a fondness for his original home, but Earth culture kept his focus during his time on the galra homeworld.

That is until his reading was interrupted one day.

"Hey, what's your name?", a large figure casted a shadow over him, covering most of the bench outside of the school.

"Shiro", he said, not sure if he was looking at the right person.

Wearing the school colors, the team insignia, definitely a top player. His body seemed healthy, very much so in fact, but that's a requirement if someone wanted to be good in sports. Purple fur covering his hands and face, coming out of his clothes at certain parts. Large ears, probably can hear anything from a mile away. An eye and arm missing, probably injuries from playing in the schools arena league. His face, handsome though not usually reserved for humans. He'd heard of him, definitely-

"Sendak, pleasure to meet you", he held out a hand.

Shiro was nervous, he took it slowly, not sure if he was about to be pranked. But Sendak didn't do anything beyond a simple shake.

"You don't need to be so shy, I won't do anything."

Shiro slowly smiled, and set down his book to speak to him. He didn't think the jockiest guy in school would be talking to him, let alone in such friendly tones.  
"Ain't you just the most nervous little beauty I've ever seen."

Was that flirting? Did he just call Shiro a beauty? He had to be mistaken, a galra like him didn't just go up to someone like Shiro.

"Maybe you'd want to talk more over a date. Friday at 7:00? At the cinema downtown?"

Shiro blushed, this guy was serious. He wasn't entirely certain on it, but he went with it anyways.

"Sure", he said, grabbing his book to open it.

Sendak's mouth formed a grin, "Sounds great, can't wait to see you."

Shiro didn't let him see, but he was smiling behind that book of his.

 

  
The next few days were of personal excitement to Shiro. He kept it secret, not wanting everyone to know why he was so happy all of a sudden. Then the day came, he dressed in something he thought befitting for a guy like Sendak. His mother gave him some money to help pay for himself, or for anything else he wanted. He stood outside the cinema, he was a little early from the agreed time, but he was excited for an actual date.

The time hit 7:00, Shiro looked around the outside of the cinema, waiting to see his date's arrival. But Sendak didn't show himself, a little odd considering how happy he had sounded about the date. So he wasn't exactly on time, that wasn't a bad thing. It would probably just be a few more minutes, or maybe fifteen. Or maybe half an hour. Or maybe an hour.

Or maybe two hours of hopeless waiting outside the doors. He couldn't believe it, he'd been stood up. But perhaps he could, he was just a human to him after all. Regardless, whatever Sendak's intentions were if he forgot or not, it still hurt Shiro. He faced the fact that his date wasn't going to show, and he walked himself home. Though it was a short walk, the minutes seemed to drag on as he walked. Even his speed was slow, he wasn't as upbeat on the way back as he was on the way there. He opened the door to his house and left the crinkled GAC bills on the counter. Then he stormed up to his room, laying flat on his bed to think over the night. Soon he heard a knock from someone after a few minutes.

"Shiro? Are you home already?", a feminine voice said.

"Yeah", her sad son responded.

"Is something wrong? What happened?"

He looked to the side, "He forgot the date. Or he went back on it without telling me."

His door opened so his mother could peek her face in, "Oh honey, I'm sorry. Maybe you can talk to him about it?"

Shiro let out a deep breath, "Maybe I can."

On the following monday, or at least monday as he remembered it in Earth days, he had an odd air around him. It was unexpected from him, and it wasn't the human that everyone was used to seeing. No, something was different about him, he was pissed. Though he had to wait until lunch, and it was out of the blue for him, he would confront Sendak at his table.

"You said you wanted to hang out", he said, slamming his fists on the table in front of him.

"Come again?", the galra only gave him an annoyed look.

"You said you wanted to hang out last friday. What the hell happened?", Shiro needed answers.

"And why would I want to do that, freak?"

The word caught Shiro by surprise. The venom in his voice, the look he was giving him, his worst suspicions were true. He hadn't just intentionally stood Shiro up, he did it to make him look like a fool. And a fool he was, to think Sendak would actually be nice to someone he'd never spoken to before. His friends were laughing, joining in with his mistreatment.

"Go away, primitive. We don't want a human here."

Shiro glared at them, and walked away. He could hear them laughing and calling after him a little, but he just walked faster in response. Of course he had to let someone into his life, and of course they had to give the impression they wanted to date Shiro. But this is what he got for trying new things, an embarrassed self and a humiliated reputation. He could only hope that was the last he'd see of Sendak. But fate had other plans.

"Psst. Hey", Sendak was trying to get his attention in class.

He didn't pay any attention to him, but that didn't stop his cruelty.

"You don't have real frieeends, you don't have real frieeends", he taunted, a stupid quiet sing song voice.

He only focused more on what the teacher was writing.

Sendak kicked his desk, "Pay attention to me, freak."

He wouldn't give him that satisfaction, he continued to copy the digi-board.

Sendak shoved him, "Don't ignore me, human."

Shiro stopped writing and put his stuff in his bag, leaving the classroom of galra staring at his exit. His teacher asked what he was doing but he ignored him. It was a long hallway, unusually taller than he'd been used to on Earth, probably to accomodate taller galrans. That was how he usually encountered things there, they were slightly bigger than they were on Earth. The bathroom came up on his left, it was as good a place as any to go to. He set his bag down and looked in the mirror. His face was normal, he didn't have acne, he wasn't by any means ugly. So why did Sendak hate him? And like the phrase, the devil appeared as he thought of him.

"Teacher knows I was talking to you. Don't worry, I came to 'apologize' and whatnot. But we both know I love making you flinch and twitch around. So let's both agree to just let this continue."

Shiro walked out without saying anything, but that didn't end his troubles.

Over the next few weeks, his problems grew increasingly worse. Though Sendak wasn't always in the same class as him, his friends certainly were at one point or the other. If it wasn't him directly kicking Shiro's desk, they would pick up the slack. Sometimes the teachers noticed and defended Shiro, but that only made his bullies more careful. He couldn't walk down the same hallway as them, alternating his routes in the hopes they wouldn't see him. He heard the word "freak" at least 3 times a day, though oftentimes it was more than that. Eventually even his lunch was in danger.

"Hey freak", one of the jocks said.

Shiro ignored him, and he ate his sandwich like usual.

"That's inconsiderate to pretend I'm not here, I'll have to teach you something."

He didn't know his name, not that he needed to bother himself to find out. But moving past that, the unnamed galra took his lunch tray and dumped it onto Shiro. Some of it came off easy, like salad leaves, but other things stuck. Like his drink that went all over his hair, and the condiments on his sandwich staining the front of his shirt. No one said anything, save for Sendak and his friends laughing at their table. Shiro just grabbed his bag and left, trying his best to ignore their guffaws. One of his friends tried to catch up to him outside of the school.

"Shiro! That guy's an idiot, he can't-"

"He can't what, Mizal? He can't keep on doing that for as long as he likes because the school cares more about their precious little arena team? Because they like winning trophies more than stopping something they know about? He can't just keep taking orders from Sendak on exactly how to ruin my day? I'm going home...", he didn't even look back to her.

The treatment only got worse, he isolated himself from everyone. His grades fell lower, he didn't even try anymore. He couldn't stay at home all the time, he had to go back to school eventually. Try as they might, the teachers couldn't get him to even attempt at doing his homework. When lunchtime came, he always stayed in the classroom for his next class, avoiding a meal altogether despite his stomach's uncomfortable grumbling. The only thing he did enjoy was his time on the bench, alone, to read his books.

"Hey freak, whatcha reading?", an unfortunately familiar voice said.

Shiro looked up to see a group of Sendak's friends looking at him. He frowned and went back to reading, he was nearly finished with this one. The one in front grabbed the book from his hands and looked it over. It was almost as if he was reading it, but it lost his interest. He started to hand it back to Shiro, but pulled it away just as soon as he got close enough to take it back. Then he started ripping out it's pages, letting them blow away, leaving a mostly empty book casing.

The galra threw it on the ground in front of him, "It's garbage, not even that, it's something you'd shit out. Just like all human books, just like you."

Shiro stood there in quiet shock, then something in him snapped. He threw himself onto the galra, he just needed to aim for the face, that's where he could make him bleed. He managed to get a few punches in before he was pulled off by a few others.

The galra wiped his mouth of some blood, "You haven't learned your place here."

Shiro glared at him, he didn't care how many punches he would have to take. But he did care about his bag, which they seemed to notice. One of them held him back as the rest dumped it out, letting his school papers go with the wind, ripping more books apart. Of course, a few of them punched him in his gut, the pain making Shiro cry out. Shiro closed his eyes, letting some tears fall, he didn't care if they laughed about it. Soon he heard their leader's voice join in.

"What the hell's going on?", Sendak said, he'd just arrived.

One of his friends held up Shiro's remaining book, "Just in time, saved the last one for you."

He smiled, but there was something about seeing Shiro broken down to a crying mess that caught his attention. He was absolutely helpless, he couldn't do anything to defend himself, he could only let them do what they wanted to his things. But he didn't need to look like that, it ruined his usually cute face. Wait, stop right there, Sendak didn't actually feel anything for him, did he? But on the contrary, Shiro was fair on the eyes, even if he wasn't a galra. He looked strong, though not as strong as a galra of course. His hair was nice, though not as much hair as a galra either. His face, remarkably cute, though not as-  
  
_'Oh forget the damn comparisons and just admit to yourself you like him',_ his thoughts said.  
  
The next moment, he did something merciful to his victim. He lost his sinister look in favor of a more casual one.

"I think he's had enough for one day", he refused to take it.

His friend made an evil grin, "Well, if you don't want to, then I'll do the honors."

He was about to tear it in half, but Sendak suddenly gripped both his arms before he could.

"I said that's enough", he said, staring directly at his friend with a frown.

Shiro didn't know what to believe anymore, this had to be some sick joke. Sendak only continued to stare him down, now frowning a little. He was waiting for something to happen, what exactly? Shiro found his answer when the galra dropped the book, letting it hit the ground below his hands. Sendak let his arms go, he picked up the book and walked towards Shiro. By this point they had let him free of the grip. They stared at their leader in shock, why was he going easy on the human?

"This is yours", he said, holding it out for him.

Shiro took the book, and promptly threw it at his face. The others immediately lunged at him, punching as hard as they could. One of them hit his eye, that was gonna leave a mark for a while. But something different happened, Sendak was pulling them off of him. If any went back to Shiro, confused to why they were pulled away, Sendak would almost throw them in the opposite direction. None of them expected him to be protecting him, after all, didn't he just throw a book at their leader. He stood his back to Shiro, watching his accomplices for their next move.

"What are you doing?", one of them said.

"I..I don't know. Just don't hurt him anymore, he's taken enough today."

Shiro didn't move, he laid on the concrete, flat on his back. He looked around for his book, which he noticed was in the hands of one of the other galra. Sendak noticed and went towards that particular one, a sense of doom on him. None of them even paid attention to Shiro anymore, they were looking at their boss.

"Give it", he growled out, his red eye helping his scary look.

The galra was dumbfounded, but then glared at him, "No."

Sendak stepped closer, "Give. It."

His probably former friend got angry, "Screw you, human lov-", a fist had connected to his face.

A few of the other galra went to check on him, making sure he was alright. Then they stared up at their ex-leader in annoyance. Sendak paid them no mind, he had to wipe the blood off his hand. He picked up the book and walked back to Shiro, but Shiro wasn't paying attention to them at all. He was picking up whatever remained of his things, trying to save something of value. If he couldn't read there, he wasn't going to stay there, ever. Not even his mother would be able to stop him from staying home, he didn't care if he disobeyed her. She couldn't possibly understand how it felt to be considered less than dirt by a majority of the school.

"I got your book", Sendak said, handing it to the battered human.

Shiro took it, stared at it for a few seconds, then angrily threw it on the ground amidst his tears. Sendak tried to extend his hand, not meant for anything malicious, but his victim didn't care. He shoved the galran hand away with surprising strength, and spoke with fury.

"FUCK YOU, I HATE YOU, DON'T TOUCH ME, DON'T EVEN SPEAK TO ME, JUST GO AWAY!!"

Sendak didn't say anything, he had only himself to blame. Shiro walked away, shaking with anger and sadness, ignoring his bully. If only he knew that Sendak wouldn't bully him anymore, but he understood his distrust of him. The galra turned to see his former friends shake their heads and walk away. The only thing he could think of to fix the situation was to help Shiro out, regardless of if he would forgive him or not. He looked at the pageless books, surely their covers would allow him to find replacements.

 

 

Shiro hadn't gone anywhere for a week. His mother brought meals up to his room, sometimes he ate them, sometimes he laid in his bed. His father wanted him to try and go out, display battle scars like a galra would, but Shiro was only a human. And he wouldn't dare let his face be shown to those who would laugh. It just so happened that he was downstairs to get something to eat one day when his mother answered the door to someone.

"Hello, how are- What are you doing here?", her tone shifted mid-sentence to a colder voice.

"I need to give Shiro a few things", was that....Sendak?

"You don't need to give him anything, you little shit", she closed the door on him.

Shiro walked in front of the door, "Mom, who was that?"

She glared at the doorway, "Someone who doesn't know when to leave someone else alone."

He looked through the door's little window, Sendak's face was there. He was looking with pleading eyes, he really wanted to come inside. Shiro wanted to think on this for a moment: His bully, somehow finding his house, acting innocent, and if he could guess, coming over to 'apologize'? Either his parents sent him over, or this was another scheme to humiliate him again. He moved past his mother to open the door, a quick message to leave would suffice.  
  
The bastard tried smiling, "Hey Shiro, I know I-"  
  
"Go away", he started to close the door on the galra, until a purple hand kept it open.  
  
"FUCK OFF, YOU PIECE OF SHIT", he pushed as hard as he could on the door, never in a trillion years would he let him in.  
  
"I got your books!", he was desperate for Shiro to stop closing the door. Luckily he did stop shoving against the door, and he opened it to hear him out. He still wasn't happy, which was to be expected of him, he still had that black eye from last week.  
  
"I took your book covers and used them to find replacements", he said, holding up a bag. He brought one out as an example, letting Shiro look to know he wasn't lying. He took it for a moment, looked over every inch of the front, and dropped it back into the bag it came from.  
  
"Apology not accepted", he said, closing the door again, but Sendak didn't know when to give up.  
  
"Hold on a second, this isn't a joke!"  
  
"Knowing you, I'd say you're a fucking liar!", Shiro stamped on his foot before he shut it, he heard Sendak cry out once he was able to shut the door. He didn't feel bad about causing him pain, in fact he enjoyed it. Luckily he hadn't started this himself, he could write it off as fending away harassment.  
  
"Shiro, are you alright?", his mother had been standing to the side, knife in hand just in case her son's bully tried anything fishy.  
  
He went over and slumped into his couch, he let the tears run down his face.  
  
"Oh, you didn't do anything wrong. Confronting him is always the right thing, you're very brave for standing up to him", she said, trying her best to comfort him.  
  
He kept shaking despite her hugs, "He found out where I live. He's gonna throw something through the window, he'll probably paint something on the side of the house, he won't leave us alone!"  
  
"Honey, believe me, if he does anything like that, the police would know."  
  
He started to get up and pace around, "I need to stop this, it's getting ridiculous. The school needs my word, I don't know if they've been waiting for it, but I need him out of my life." His mother agreed to that with a nod, getting up to give him another hug before he went back to his room.  
  
  
  
  
He walked into the school with a determined attitude, amidst the looks he was getting. More and more people stared at his arrival, the human had come back to the school. Whispers of his eye and his return filled his ears from either side as he walked towards the office. People didn't try to stop him, they even moved out of the way for him. The only thing he felt was a hand touch his shoulder, making him turn in annoyance to see who wanted to start shit.  
  
"Hey", his friend Mizal said, he hadn't seen her or spoke to her since the previous week.  
  
"I thought you were someone else for a second. But I really have to go, see you at lunch", he said, giving her a wave before he went in.  
  
The office employee's stared at him with sudden surprise, they hadn't expected his arrival that day.  
  
"I need to speak to the principal", he said, setting his bag on the table.  
  
"Shiro......you'll have to wait. He's in a meeting with someone's parents. I think you should go, you might not-", they heard the sound of a door opening. The principal was walking out of it, talking to someone out of view. Shiro grabbed his bag and walked up to him, despite the workers plea not to. The principal turned to see who was approaching him, stunned to find the school's human transfer back so soon. Shiro was about to speak to him until he saw someone else poke their head into view: Sendak.  
  
Shiro lost his temper immediately, "He needs to go! He doesn't need to be here, he and-"  
  
"Hold on a second, just calm down! I just finished up setting out the appropriate punishment for him, which he'll be receiving for the rest of the school year."  
  
Shiro shook his head in anger, "No, you don't understand what he did. Do you know what happened?"  
  
"Yes, his teammates were very helpful in that regard. They told us that he went crazy one day, they had to pull him off you for fear of your life."  
  
That didn't happen. They were just as guilty as Sendak and they were covering their asses. And the school believed them somehow, just his luck.  
  
He wanted to make sure the truth was known, "Sir, I-"  
  
"Shiro, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have beat you up, I shouldn't have ripped your books apart, I just needed to leave you be."  
  
Sendak was taking the blame? For everything? Why was he doing that? Shiro looked at him, finding a surprisingly regretful face. He must be acting, he wouldn't be that sorry, but still, why did he alone take the punishment?  
  
"He's come to terms with his situation, and he won't be a problem for you anymore."  
  
"I...........ok", he said, not sure of what was real anymore.  
  
He glared at Sendak one last time before he walked off, going to his first class. His teacher smiled upon seeing his face, the rumors of him being back were true. Another surprise was Mizal, she was sitting next to where he usually did. She didn't have classes with him as far as he knew, but she was welcome anyway. Students stared at his face in awe, like it was artwork to be admired. He sat down and let them stare for another second, before his friend set them straight.  
  
"What are you all looking at? He doesn't need you gawking at him, you've got work to do."  
  
With that they turned away, some of them glared at her as they did. She didn't mind, nor did she care what they thought of her. Shiro had been through enough already, she didn't want him to answer the multitude of questions from his classmates. They still had a few more minutes before class started, so she took the opportunity to welcome him back.  
  
"Hey, I'm in your classes now!", her smile made him happy.  
  
"Mizal, what has everyone been saying? I don't know if I remember it very well, why did Sendak get punished?"  
  
"Well, they say that you stood up to him. According to his friends he was ripping apart your books, though I have a feeling they had a hand in that. Then apparently you jumped on him, punching him a few times before they pulled you off. Sendak lost it I guess, he punched you and kicked you around while his friends tried calming him down. Something about making you learn your place, *pfff*, like he's in a better position himself. You're lucky they knew he could kill you, they're still assholes for helping him before, but to their credit they stopped him from sending you to the hospital. They even said they tried giving you whatever was left, but you were too angry, or just in shock, you just walked off with your bag."  
  
So, that's how it went down in their gossip? Sendak had done everything, even punching Shiro and all that, and his friends had been the saints? And of course everyone had agreed to that, save for a few that could recognize a lie, like her. But his bully wasn't trying to dispute any of it, for some odd reason. It was a long shot, but maybe Sendak did truly feel bad for what he'd done to him.  
  
"Funny how much you forget if you get punched hard enough", he said as a joke, hiding the truth under it.  
  
She rolled her eyes, "Don't give me that. You've got your own version, tell me what happened."  
  
"Fine, you got me there. I'll tell you what happened at lunch, only a few more hours, right?", he said.  
  
"Can't wait, I'm glad you're back by the way", she said before turning back to the front of the room.  
  
Shiro was getting his stuff out of his bag when he heard a "Psst!" to the right of him. He looked to see his classmate trying to get his attention.  
  
"How did you survive that fight?", he said in a whisper.  
  
Shiro smiled and shrugged, turning back to his own work. The other classmate tried to get him to talk more, but Mizal threw a pencil at him. Not exactly nice, but she didn't want him to get bothered to talk about something he didn't want to talk about. He needed to get back up on his work, fix everything that he'd missed. Or if not that, then he could do the work he was getting now. His thoughts soon shifted to his tormentor, he couldn't help but think what he was trying to get at. One thing was certain, he was an asshole and he could continue to be seen as an asshole. But despite everything, Shiro couldn't help but have a small bit of respect for him taking the punch for what his friends did.  
  
It would still be a long while before he could actually speak to him though.


	2. The list

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sendak expects to be able to make friends with Shiro, but he receives a sad reminder of why that can't happen yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I wouldn't be updating this for a while, but I found myself writing for it more than I expected. You can expect a chapter of this story weekly, maybe even a double update later on for an important part of the story.

"You're kidding me..", Mizal looked over to see Sendak's former friends sitting at their table. They didn't look entirely happy, but they went along as everyone else did.

"No, all I said is how it went down. Like I explained, they're desperate to prove innocence to the school. I haven't had any problems with them or him since then, still doesn't mean I forgive 'em", he took a large bite out of his sandwich, galran meat wasn't as juicy as ham would be.

"Speaking of which", she looked over to see Sendak sitting alone, without his signature jacket on.

Shiro soon turned around to see Sendak staring down in anger at his meal. He felt a little sorry for him, being by himself with no one left, after all he did stop his "friends" from beating him up. But still, there had been many incidents that made his own sympathy suddenly run short. The only noteworthy thing left about him was that he remained carrying a book bag around for Shiro.

"You see that black bag?", he told her, pointing it behind his back.

She pushed his finger down to try and make them more subtle, before taking a quick spy at Sendak's extra baggage.

"You got details on that?", she asked in a low whisper.

He wiped his mouth of crumbs, "He bought new books for me. But considering him, I think he probably scribbled some stupid shit on the pages or put some liquid spray in there."

She looked at the bag again, "Maybe. Aw shit, he noticed me. Don't turn around."

Shiro was wise enough not to, he didn't need to look to hear him coming. He just ate his food and tried to ignore the book bag now set next to him. He only thing he couldn't ignore very well was that unnerving voice.

"Mizal, did he tell you the truth?", he knew Shiro wouldn't talk to him.

She didn't speak for a minute, trying to stare him down until she realized he wasn't going to leave without an answer.

*Sigh* "What he's told me is that week after week after month of treating him like trash, you decide to sober up from your shittiness. But guess what? You don't get an automatic pass on being an asshole because of one nice thing."

He glared at her, "But you know I helped him!"

Shiro was writing something under his own hand, out of view of Sendak or his friend, due to their attention bent on mutual arguing.

"I don't care if you threw a party for him, that's still trying to cover up what was said and done!", she was getting the attention of a few other tables.

"I just want to give him his books back, is that so wrong?!?!", his voice was straddling the line between calm and angry.

A sentry attending to the cafeteria was already on its way over, Sendak wasn't even supposed to be near Shiro unless he wanted him to be. It grabbed his arm and kept one hand trained on a stunning module, ready to use if the mountainous galra's temper went loose.

"Student: Sendak, you have previously been issued with a restraining order from the school. You are in violation of that order, and will face severe punishment if you do not vacate Student: Shiro's presence."

"Wait a second", Shiro said, finishing his writing and holding out a piece of paper behind his back.

"Do you wish to allow student: Sendak to take your paper?", the sentry said.

"I want him to take it", he said, not even turning to look at him in the eye.

Sendak grabbed it while glaring at Mizal, she returned a nastier look. The sentry grabbed the book bag to hand back to it's owner, programmed not to let threats any closer to prey than they need to be. Sendak took it back while the sentry spoke.

"Return to your designated dining area immediately, this violation will be put on record but will not be pursued for further punishment. Should any additional violations occur, you face additional detention."

 

  
Sendak walked back to his table quickly, he knew that it wouldn't hesitate to tase him. His former teammates didn't even pay attention as he walked by, despite one quiet enough mutter of "human lover". He wanted to fire back, but not under the watching eye of the sentry. The only thing he could do was get a look at the piece of paper Shiro had given to him.

'Think on these words and how they relate to me and you. The first one should be easy to remember, the rest depend on if you cared enough to even know how I felt:  
Books  
Sidewalk  
Homework  
Sink  
Friends'

Books? The books he had gotten to repay for the ones ripped up?  
The ones....ripped up......  
So, he was listing various different bullying situations. Like he had written, the book incident was fresh in Sendak's memory. He'd walked up to his goons letting papers fly away in the wind, ripping them up and spitting on pieces. Meanwhile Shiro was crying, his favorite activity had been ruined.

 _'Oh, damn it....'_ , he thought.

Of course that's why he'd been so upset. It wasn't just any normal things that were ruined, it was his books. The only connection left between him and Earth, his own personal comfort, an escape from bullying. And they had ruined it all, under Sendak's command. He didn't mean for them to, but giving the jocks an order of "do what you want" gave a lot more freedom to ugliness than he realized.

The human couldn't even read to himself.

 

 

"Ok, that one done, now the next one..", he saw the word 'sidewalk'.

Ok, Shiro on a sidewalk....Sendak and his team....shit.

Due to them not finding enough time in school to be assholes to him, they found time outside of it. That came in the form of throwing rotten food at him when they caught him walking home. He had tried his best to hide, even outrun them, but he still got covered with the foul-smelling mixture of things. Of course he had cried, but they laughed while driving away from him.

If he was in Shiro's place, he'd cry too. After all, not everyone had to wear filthy clothes home the rest of the day. They didn't have to smell moldy meat on their shirt, or expired milk on their pants. They didn't have to wash off their shoes, despite a visible stain remaining on them afterwards. They didn't need to explain to their parents that a truck full of galra ambushed them and pelted them into a hideous state. They didn't need to feel dirty enough to take a long shower to get rid of a smell, paranoid enough to make themselves unbearably perfumed the next day.

The human couldn't even take a shortcut home.

 

 

He closed his eyes and got angry with himself, why had he been so cruel? The next word for him was 'homework', that one came into his mind easier than the last.

One of the things Sendak liked to do with Shiro's papers was rip them up in the hallway. Shiro could always get replacements, meaning he'd have to do the work all over again, but one of the occasions was particularly mean. The teacher had assigned a written essay, not typed, meaning the drafts and final paper would be the only copies. And like his former self did, he had waited for an opportunity to gang up on him with his friends and completely rip up the work he'd done. He also threatened him into silence, saying "tattlers get the wet treatment".

And Shiro's thoughts during all of that? Looking at a week of hard work and editing, careful punctuation, and thoughtful writing, gone to waste. And he couldn't do anything about it, or he'd get some sort of punishment from them. He cried then as well, picking up the pieces and trying to find the right ones to put back together. He cried more when they took as much paper bits as they could carry and threw it out the window. It must've really hurt when he heard Sendak laughing as the teacher hovered by Shiro's desk, waiting for an explanation for the missing paper.

The human couldn't even complete his work.

 

 

"Damn it", he muttered to himself, rubbing his forehead at the memory of it.

The next word was 'sink', that played into the previously remembered threat to Shiro.

He didn't know how the school found out he'd ruined Shiro's papers, but he and his suddenly detention bound friends weren't happy. The next time they saw him entering a bathroom alone, they'd give him the wet treatment. That involved plugging up a sink to let it fill up, then in effect making someone drown in the water. He told Shiro how he warned him, how he didn't need to resort to this, but lessons needed to be taught on tattlers.

But what did Shiro see? He felt the agony of not breathing for a full minute. And he probably thought that was the end of it too, but it wouldn't be. Not until they held his arms and legs as they put him down for another minute, with 30 more seconds to make it harder on his lungs. Sendak knew what it felt like to lose air, to stay underwater, he didn't envy Shiro's current place. So why did he do it then?  
The human couldn't even try to stop his bullying.

"I'm such an asshole..", he said, tugging at his fur on his head.

 

 

The final word on ths list, though not one very appreciated or welcomed by Sendak, was 'Friends'. How did he mess with Shiro's friends? He'd obviously still been friends with Mizal, and he used to sit with some other- Well, there was his answer.

Shiro used to sit with a wider circle of friends, once. Mizal had been a part of it then as well, she seemed to be the only one that made Shiro feel relevant. Sendak and his team decided to change that. Through a series of fake phone texts, Shiro suddenly found himself a villain after he called a few of his friends "whores" or the like. The only one that believed he didn't was Mizal, but she suffered the loss of her friends after defending him.

Imagine that, being a human transfer and managing to somehow have some friends to sit and talk to. Now those same friends were one day screaming at him, saying they never should've been friends with a judgemental human. Adding to that was an overwhelming sense of loneliness, but no one save for one girl trusted him enough to be friends with a rumor spreading human. And like so many other times, Shiro had let the tears fall as Sendak and his team watched from the side, laughing at his unhappiness.

The human couldn't even have friends........

 

  
At that, he covered the paper with his hand, not willing to see the reminders anymore. He looked over to Shiro and Mizal, they were ignoring him now. Then the class bell sounded, the students rushed up to go to class. Going past him was one of the girls he and his friends had tricked, he needed to be truthful to her. If he was going to fix this, he would start with clearing Shiro's name.

"Ayka, wait!", he said, grabbing her shoulder to make sure she turned.

"Don't you have more humans to beat up?", she brushed him off and started to turn around.

"We made it up", he said.

She stopped in place, turning around to find out what he meant.

"When Shiro sent those things to you? We had stolen his phone and sent them."

Her face immediately became angry with shocked realization, "You....are such an asshole. I can't even believe you, what the fuck is wrong with you?!"

His ears lowered, "I know-"

"Don't talk to me! Do you have any idea how Shiro feels?! I told him to get killed in an arena, and now I find out he didn't even deserve that?! Now I really know why no one wants to be your friend, you sub-galra trash!", she walked off with that.

It hurt Sendak, another person hated him now. A lot of people disliked him, sure, but hate, pure disgust of him, that stung deep. But he'd gotten what he really wanted, for her to realize Shiro hadn't done anything wrong. WIth that, she would tell everyone that Shiro wasn't actually a liar, and she would hopefully try to make up with him.  
If his own reputation had to become worse, then so be it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this, you can leave criticisms or suggestions in the comments.


	3. The apology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While someone makes amends with Shiro, Sendak returns his list with an added twist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My access to internet has been a bit spotty, sorry. Anyways, here's the chapter. Also, a bit of homophobia will occur, which will also become a regular thing. Just so you know, in case you don't like seeing a certain word.

Shiro had started his second day back normally, eating lunch with Mizal without any visible problems. Sendak still carried around his books, the team still acted like they had done no wrong, and everyone still had a wonder of why he was back. But they'd get over that quickly, remembering that "Shiro sent messages behind people's backs" or whatever else Sendak had done to make him look bad. Adding to his depressing outlook was his former friend Ayka, visiting for some unknown reason.

"Hi, Ayka", he said, though his tone wasn't very welcoming to her.

"I'm sorry, you didn't really send those messages to me, did you?"

Mizal laughed sarcastically, "And you're just figuring this out now?"

"No, that asshole told me what he'd done. I've told anyone that wondered what actually happened with your phone. Suddenly those other dickwads are just as bad as him, am I right?", she said with a short chuckle, but they didn't join in.

"Did I do something wrong?", his forgiveness was all she wanted, but she failed to see how soon she could be friendly, as if abandoning him was conveniently forgotten.

"Ayka, I felt alone. The only one there for me was Mizal, and even she had to take a ton of shit for taking my side. I know you had your reasons, but telling everyone that I sent you those messages...", he shook his head and went back to eating his salad.

She didn't speak for a few seconds, "Do you want me to go?", she finally said.

"I appreciate you apologizing, I do. I'm sorry, but I'm gonna need a bit of time before I can sit with you. I don't mean to, but seeing you right now is like a reminder of all the dirty looks I got after they framed me."

"I understand, sorry again. Hope you feel better soon!", she walked off with a small wave, conflicted to know how much he'd been hurt by her.

Mizal didn't exactly smile at her exit, but she wasn't unhappy with the situation.

"So, I guess people know you don't talk shit about everyone", she drank some of her water.

Shiro frowned, "It doesn't work like that. The worst lie, a believable lie too, spreads like wildfire. You don't know who does or doesn't know the real truth. It helps that she's letting people know, but the damage is done."

Mizal gave him a bit of a sweet treat, similar to pudding but a little more liquid then it was thick. It wasn't much to fix his problems, but a bit of dessert would help distract from them.

"I wouldn't worry too much about those people. Now that the truth is really out there, they can get off their high horses."

He smiled, "I suppose. But I'm wondering about someone else", he looked to see Sendak, who was eating by himself as usual.

"Why did he tell everyone what really happened?", he wondered.

Mizal shrugged, "Maybe he thought it'd make himself look better, he'd be stupid enough to think that."

"You don't think he's trying to be my friend now, is he?", he asked her.

She laughed, "Oh, I don't think that's looking too realistic right now. It only does you more good than anything, he isn't going to be some hero for telling Ayka that he lied."

"I don't know, he saved me the other day, he even spoke friendly when he defended me, and now he's making my reputation a little better? I can't help but look at him like he's changed or something."

She got a little worried, "Don't tell me you're forgiving him, you can't be serious."

"It's not like that. People can change, it looks like he's trying to be one of them."

Their conversation was stopped by the arrival of the attendant sentry.

"Student: Shiro, Student: Sendak wishes to receive an invitation from you to join your dining area. Do you give your permission?"

He looked over to Sendak, he looked close to begging. In his hand was the list Shiro had given him, apparently he did save it rather than throwing it out. It was stupid, but he wanted to hear Sendak's apology personally.

"Let him come, but only for how long I want him here."

"Understood, I will stand guard nearby for safety protocol", the sentry walked back to Sendak. He smiled and got his stuff to sit near Shiro. He didn't sit next to him, partially due to Mizal's glare at him, mostly due to knowing Shiro wasn't entirely comfortable with him there.

Sendak held up the paper, "I read your list."

Shiro kept an annoyed look, "And?"

"I understand, as much as I hate remembering. And I'm sorry, I mean it. But I thought I could show you something else. It's not that I enjoyed thinking about them, but I thought apologizing for a few more couldn't hurt."

Shiro was handed the paper and saw a few new words added to the list. 'Classroom', 'Lunch', and 'Face' respectively. If they were in the same vein as the others, then he understood them perfectly. But he didn't want to hear it himself, he wanted to hear it from the perpetrator's mouth.

"I don't want to remember this, I want you to tell me what you remember", he said with a hard stare.

"In your classes I kept bothering you. I kicked your desk, or shoved you, just distracting or preventing you from doing work. And if I wasn't there, then it was my friends doing it. It must've been hard for you, to have your writing suddenly shake because we pushed you around or shook the desk. I shouldn't have fucked your grades up."

Shiro didn't say anything for a few seconds, "Go on."

"Here in the lunchroom one day, one of the team members dumped your lunch all over you. We thought it would be funny, and we did laugh, which I shouldn't have done. But you got covered with everything, it ruined your outfit. I didn't even see you eat here anymore, you were willing to starve rather than staying near me. I didn't need to stop you from eating."

Shiro glared more, but he wanted Sendak to continue, "Last one now."

"Your face. You have a human face, so of course I called it ugly. It doesn't have fur, it seems very pale, your eyes aren't yellow, and you don't have sharper canines. I kept insulting you, calling you a freak, saying you look worse than a pile of shit. You cried sometimes, I laughed at that then, and I shouldn't have. You're not ugly, and I shouldn't have made you feel like you were."

"You don't think I'm ugly?", he said, wanting to hear it from him.

"Shiro, you're really......handsome", Sendak couldn't reveal he liked him, not now, maybe not ever.

Shiro looked between the paper and him for a minute. Mizal kept giving him a bad look as she tapped her fingers against the table. A few other people were staring, gossiping as to why Sendak was suddenly sitting at the same table as the human he beat up.

Shiro set the paper on the table, "I can think of at least 10 more words to add to this. Mizal can think of more, considering what she went through because of you and your friends. But-"

"I'm not friends with them", he said with some anger.

Despite the rude interruption, Shiro kept going, a little surprised the galra didn't want them to be his friends.

"I was about to say, I appreciate you remembering more than just what I had presented. Maybe you do regret it, or not, I don't know if I can trust you. And leaving your friends behind, not everyone does that easily. But I don't forgive you."

Sendak wanted to speak out, say something to convince him, but trying to force his forgiveness would only make it worse. The only thing he could do was sadly agree, and offer the books again.

"I still have the books."

Shiro stared to the side, "And I still don't want them."

"Why?", Sendak exasperatingly asked, he mistakenly believed Shiro was opening up to them now.

Shiro hated that he needed to explain this to him, that it was still lost on him somehow.

"Reading was the only thing left that I could do in peace, the ONLY escape from you. But you had them ruin it, and I couldn't read anymore. I _still_ don't want to read here, I don't want someone else making my day shitty again. So if I can't have that one thing, then go ahead and keep what you took."

"But I'm giving them to you!!"

Sendak had finally lost it, quickly realizing he'd yelled at his victim and caused a scene. He heard the startup of a stunning device near him, the sentry had been watching closely. Not only that, he had the attention of the cafeteria now. They probably thought he would try beating Shiro up again, or get tased, a few pulling out their phones as proof if either possibility occurred.

"That is enough, Student: Sendak. If you continue to harass Student: Shiro, I will be forced to electrocute you. Student: Shiro, do you wish to have him removed from this dining area?"

Shiro looked back to his meal, "I do."

The sentry turned back to the disappointed galra, "Student: Sendak, you will return to your former dining area until further notice. Do not return to Student: Shiro's dining area again, unless by his invitation."

"Fine!", he stomped back to his table as the rest of the room observed.

Shiro felt sorry for him, he didn't know when to stop being angry it seemed. Sendak himself didn't know what to do, he thought he was doing fine. He looked at the books and decided they were a lost cause, he would just keep them at home. Next to the bag was a little note, reading 'meet me in the bathroom'. He didn't have anything else to do, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so he complied.

Stepping into the bathroom seemed ordinary enough, nothing wrong. Then someone stepped into his red eye's sight, his former teammate haxus. A tall galra, though slimmer than most. He didn't have much fur on his face, more concentrated around the ears and sides. No one else was with him, meaning Sendak wasn't going to be jumped immediately. That still didn't rule that out as something that could eventually happen, so he kept his guard up.

"You should've let us beat his ass", he said.

Sendak frowned, "Maybe I should've beat yours."

Haxus laughed, "You threw it all away, for a human. Because you want to be his friend? Or is there something more?"

"He didn't need to get hurt! I put him through hell, I shouldn't have done everything I did.."

"You do like him then, interesting development. There's a word we would've called Shiro, but it'll suit you just fine, _faggot_ ", he tried walking past Sendak, who shoved him against the wall.

Haxus didn't look scared, instead he made a nasty smile.

"You should be careful, they're watching you and my team closely."

Sendak growled, "I shouldn't even be kicked off the league, you fuckers painted yourselves like angels!"

"And what'll you do, tell the school your side of the story? Aren't you the one who told us we could do anything we wanted? The one who could've punched Shiro just as easily as he tortured him? Get real, they won't believe a word from you."

He wanted to punch the pinned galra, maybe bang his body against the wall to really hurt him, but he couldn't. He didn't care what Haxus said about the school punishing him, but he did care about what Shiro would think. And he wouldn't want there to be pointless violence over a punishment that, when reflected upon, Sendak really did deserve. He set Haxus down and let him walk back to his table, and soon after he returned to his own.

 

 

A car passed by Sendak as he walked home, someone screamed "DICKHEAD!" as loud as they could from the passenger window. Oh, how the tables had turned on him, but only him. Besides Haxus, no one else from the team made an effort to re-connect. And if they didn't want to talk to him or share the punishment, then he didn't need them in his life anymore. Soon his familiar looking house came into view, and he walked through the front door.

"Sendak? How was your day?", his mother was always talking from the kitchen when he got home.

He set his things on the kitchen table, "He still doesn't want the books."

She turned from the bowl she was whisking things in, "Why do you think he doesn't?"

"I don't know! Shouldn't you be supporting me?", he accused.

"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't raise your voice, or your tone with me. You know I love you, but what you did to him, I'm still trying to accept that you really did that. You could've put him in a coma, haven't you thought about that?"

He lost his temper, "I didn't beat him up! I stopped the others from kicking his ass, and I tried giving him his things! Whatever the others said, it's a lie! The only reason I'm taking all this shit is because of Shiro! It's the only way to make him forgive me, after I ruined his life because I'm a shithead...", he started crying, a comfort reserved for his own home.

She sighed and sat next to him, wanting to know more of this new development.

"Why are you only telling me this now?"

He wiped some of his wet fur, "I'm tired of everyone saying I beat him up, I couldn't beat him up. I saw how he looked, I really looked at him, he was helpless. I think I..like him."

She let out a long breath, before taking another big one, "If what you said is true, then I really am sorry that you're being blamed for what they did. But as far as I know, you still did those horrible things to him before, so this isn't too far off from a just sentence."

She handed him a tissue, which he rubbed under his nose, wiping the fur clean.

"As for that second part, I don't know what to tell you to make it happen. It probably wouldn't work out how you want it too, I don't think he'll want you the same way. At the very least, you could make a friend instead of an enemy", she pat his back a few times and went back to her whisking.

Sendak thought over it, what she said about his detentions wasn't any different from his own thoughts. But how could he make Shiro like him, especially after he exploded at him earlier? It would be a one-sided thing then, something that just wasn't meant to be. He'd never get to spend time with him because of his own shortcomings, and that was one of the worst feelings he could ever receive..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, leave any criticisms or suggestions in the comments.


	4. The sketch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Sendak draws his crush, it ends up in Shiro's hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> double update part 1/2

Sendak's days since his detention and removal from the team were depressing. Everyone hated him, his former friends shared some of that, but not as much as he was getting. People said he was a coward to pick a fight with someone who couldn't possibly win, to bully someone smaller that couldn't really hurt anyone. Recently they started saying he was actually the untrustworthy one for making Shiro look like a dick. It wasn't wrong, but the brutally honest truth was hard to hear.

He got passed notes during class, they were either simple insults or a drawing, such as showing his head on a pike. He would hear quicker insults hurled at him while he passed others in the hall, just loud enough for him to hear. He finally knew what Shiro felt like, even if he brought it on himself. No friends, nothing he could enjoy doing, not even a shred of support from a single teacher. All because he had to be an idiot at the hands of himself and the arena league.

His lunches were spent unbearably alone, bored out of his mind, waiting for Shiro to give him an invitation. That would be a long time coming, sure, but he took comfort in seeing Shiro sitting with all of his old friends. Then he thought of something he could try, he hadn't done it for a while, but practice makes perfect. He brought out a pencil, a notebook to draw on, and a certain human for reference.

"Ok, if he could just sit still", he said, getting a basic start.

He hadn't done it for some time, when he had joined the arena league a few years prior he'd given up his free time to focus on practice. It looked rougher, but soon he'd get back into the habit. After all, he didn't have anything else to do except for homework he didn't care for.

The shape of his head first, to build upon later. Next his eyes, those were one of his most important features. His nose next, the shape of it made and some shading. His smile, easy to sketch while looking at him laugh. His jaw, so small but so attractive, it wouldn't be right to leave it out. Next his hair, some light rubbing to give the shaved sides. Then darker shading for the top, with a plain white tuft shape on the front.

Soon he moved onto his neck, giving a darker look just under the chin, making it lighter as it went towards the shirt. Shiro always wore something dark, so he decided to give him a black shirt top. It didn't look half bad so far, but he could still do better. This relaxed him, just making a rough-

His drawing was snatched away before he finished darkening one of the shoulders.

"Nice drawing, I should let Shiro put it on his fridge", Haxus said, smiling as held it up.

"Give it back!", Sendak angrily said, trying to get it back with his normal arm.

Haxus stepped away from him, "Make me."

Sendak stood up and went towards him, but Haxus kept stepping away from his spot. He couldn't keep going backwards forever, sooner or later he'd end up at someone's table. Unfortunately for him, his former friend ended up bumping into Shiro. Their table looked at the two with annoyance, Haxus had made Shiro spit up some food from bumping him suddenly.

"Can't you assholes leave him alone for one day?", Mizal said, her tone obviously unhappy.

Haxus turned around, smiling a little too much, "My apologies, I just thought he would want to look at what the bully-turned-artist drew."

He handed Shiro the picture, and his eyes widened when he realized it was his own image on the paper. He looked confused, like something about it was wrong. His confused glare went back to Haxus for an annoyed declining.

"I don't want your stupid picture", he said, handing it out for him to take back.

"Oh, but I didn't draw it, he did", he pointed to Sendak.

Sendak suddenly found himself the focus of the table, all of them curious to know why he was drawing someone from across the room. He could've sworn he heard some of them whisper things like "creep" or "stalker", that didn't help his mind get eased.

He felt ashamed, "It's.....not done. Can I have it back?"

The familiar sentry was now near them, powering up it's stunner, again. And the cafeteria was watching them, again. Sendak grew angry with himself, how many times would he be getting in trouble with the damn robot?

"Students: Sendak and Haxus, you will both return to your dining area's immediately. Student: Sendak, this is your second violation of invading Student: Shiro's dining area. I have forwarded this instance to the primary office, where they will consider if you need additional time to your detention today."

Sendak had to go back to his seat, without his picture. And Shiro was looking at it like it was a weird thing. It was a bit creepy for Sendak to draw him without his permission, but it wasn't meant for anything bad. But he had worse problems, such as the fact that he'd probably be getting a few more hours in detention that day. And he'd have to explain to his parents why he was getting home later than usual. Looking over at Haxus only served to anger him further. He was giving a devious smile and a horrid gaze back at the galra. He'd gone over a line, he really shouldn't have embarrassed Sendak like that. But he couldn't do anything to him, unless he wanted to get suspended again, or Shiro to get mad at him. He could only finish his meal and go about the rest of his day.

 

 

  
'Well that was a shitty day', his mind said.

Sendak had been given a longer detention, it was getting dinner-time when he'd been released. Except he was an hour late to it, and it would be another half-hour before he'd get back. He made a note to himself, guard the art well and make sure nobody snuck up on him again. There was nothing to redeem about the day, nothing at all, he'd have to-

"Hey", a recognizable but unexpected voice said.

He turned to see Shiro, he had a piece of paper in his hand. He unfolded it to reveal it was the sketch, making Sendak cover his eyes with a few fingers.

"You can throw it away, I know you hate it", he told him, hoping the human would leave.

Shiro started to form a smile, "I don't hate it. But you can have it back."

Sendak's mouth was left open, but soon he frowned and looked away.

"You shouldn't be here, I'm not supposed to be near you unless you want me to be."

"Then consider this my 'invitation', as the cyber-guy would say. Is it ok if I walk with you?", his kindness was unexpected.

Sendak scratched behind his head, "....I don't know if you want to walk all the way back to my house."

"I don't care, I've got questions. You can answer them or not."

The two began their walk, Sendak didn't really say anything for a few minutes. He didn't want to say anything wrong, or act too friendly to someone he wasn't close to. Shiro took up the speaking, he was curious to know why the galra was suddenly being so attentive to him lately.

"So...you're just gonna make doodles of me without letting me know?", he asked with a chuckle.

Sendak shook his head, "It isn't finished. I would've tried giving it to you personally, but Haxus is a douche."

"So that's his name, I never really cared enough to know the others very well."

Sendak raised his eyebrows, "The others?"

Shiro kicked a few rocks by his feet, "Yeah, the league. You're not friends with them, but they're still your team, right?"

Sendak chuckled, "The school kicked me off, they didn't like that I 'beat you up'."

"I mean, you didn't really do that, but you did give me a ton of shit before, so it's mostly justified. Why did you let yourself look like the bad guy?"

"Will you believe me?", he didn't want to give any wrong messages.

"If you're honest, yes."

Sendak took in a deep breath and exhaled, "It's what I've told myself, and whatever you or anyone else said. I deserve this for everything, especially after you gave me that reminder of what I did. I can still see your face in my head, the day they ruined your books, I don't want to see it like that again."

Shiro smiled, "I've noticed that in some ways. You told everyone about the phone, which got Ayka to trust me again, so, thanks. But, didn't that ruin things for you?"

"It worked wonders for my credibility, believe me", they both laughed at his joke. "But seriously, if people were getting mad over my treatment of you before, they're definitely madder now."

"Do you have anyone to talk to at school?", the human asked.

Sendak got a little sad, "Funny thing about that. When the word broke out of what happened with the books, everyone instantly hated me. The team threw me under the bus, the teachers don't want to talk to me unless it's necessary, and now I've probably ruined any chance of anyone trusting me as a friend."

"If it's worth anything, I'm sorry for not telling the school what really happened. I think it's probably too late now, they might not believe me", his sympathy moved Sendak to forget his sadness.

"It's alright. I've accepted this shitty deal, like they say, 'karma will get you'."

Shiro stopped in place, "Do you want to try hanging out?"

Sendak froze up, it was the offer he'd been waiting for. But did he really deserve Shiro's friendship? Not only that, but his friends would certainly hate seeing his former bully near him. This was another step in getting his trust, yet it didn't feel right on a personal level.

"What do you mean?", he asked, making sure the offer was clear.

"I mean you can sit with us, so that way you don't look so mopey at lunch. I was without friends once, because of a certain someone here, and I think that he knows it sucks. But at this point, I'll give you a test, and we'll see if you're ok to be part of my social circle."

Sendak's happiness flowed with his voice, "That's...great actually. I'd be fine sitting with you, but the detentions might take my personal time away. That, and my homework, I really should catch up to it."

Shiro laughed, "What do you do in detention all day that you just ignore your assignments?"

"Mostly I feel shitty, or angry, so I just sit there, burning my eyes through the desk", he made a quick mockup of an extremely irritated face.

"That's not a good way to spend your time. You should work on your math, or biology, or history", he sounded genuinely concerned.

"It's not a big deal, I get most of it done on time. The only trouble is the Alien Mathematical Studies. That class is actually teaching human equations this year, believe it or not. I don't understand a single thing about Algebra."

Shiro's face beamed, "That is the easiest stuff, I breeze through it so quickly."

"Well, if only I was in your classes again. Doesn't look likely to me", he laughed at his own joke.

"If you're having that much trouble, I can help. I might cut into some of my time, and time that my other friends want to spend with me, but I don't want you failing your classes."

Sendak couldn't believe his generosity, "Thanks Shiro, you're alright."

He held up a fist, Shiro looked at it with an amused smile before bumping it back.

"You probably shouldn't raise a fist at me in public, might give some wrong ideas."

Sendak waved a hand in front of him, "Fuck 'em. Sorry about your eye, I can't say that enough. It's good that it's healing well."

Shiro put a finger up to the affected one, "It still looks a little bruised."

"Don't worry about it, you look fine."

"I would agree, but an eyesore is an eyesore", Sendak didn't seem very amused by his observation.

He stepped in front of the human, "Look at me. You're not ugly, you never were, you never will be. You're really handsome, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Shiro took a step back and chuckled, "Jesus dude, I'm just trying to make it funny. But thanks for the support, it feels nice knowing it's not ugly to everyone."

 

  
After a bit more time, they had reached Sendak's house. He was pre-occupied with listening to Shiro, so he wasn't talking much for the remainder of their walk. It seemed the human had an interest in making his body look stronger, ever since he was 12 he'd put an effort in making himself fit. And it paid off extremely well, he didn't know it, but he was being admired by the galra beyond initial impressions. But Sendak felt a bit of guilt eyeing him up like that, so he stopped right then.

"Well, this is my stop", he looked over to his house, a single floor, with a basement. Just big enough for a small family to live in.

"Good house, actually not too far from my place. That reminds me, how did you find out where I lived?", Sendak thought it wiser to answer him rather than lying.

"I...followed you home one day. You were walking a different way, trying to avoid me and the team, but I went alone. You didn't see me, and I would've told the guys, but taking the fight to your house didn't seem right. Keep in mind, this was a few days before the whole book thing, so that could've been one of the starting points for my change of view."

Shiro's reaction wasn't mad, or happy, just a blank stare. A little too blank, what was in his mind?. What did he think of Sendak now? Probably as a stalker, sure, but he didn't want him to stop considering him a friend.

Sendak sighed, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done it, it was stupid. I understand if you don't want me hanging out with you, I'll just go inside and let that be the end of it."

Shiro put a hand up, "No, Sendak. It was a mistake, but you're trying not to make them anymore. Committing social suicide like you did, that's brave. Not taking an opportunity to bully me even worse than before, that takes balls."

He smiled at the human, "See you around."

Shiro turned to walk off, "Same to you", he waved before he went off.

Sendak walked through the front door to find an angry pair of galra. His parents were informed of his extra detention by the school, so understandably they weren't pleased with their son. Nor did they like finding out that their dinner had to be eaten without him.

"How many times are you going to try and force him to be friendly?", she said.

He shook his head and went to the kitchen, "It wasn't my fault."

His father stood in his way, "Really? Do tell, I'm sure it's not another excuse to harass him."

Sendak ran a hand on his forehead for a second, "I drew a picture of him, someone snatched it away and gave it to Shiro, I didn't want him to see it."

"Oh, I'm sure you didn't just waltz right up and hand it to him yourself."

Sendak threw out a quick breath, "I didn't lie, I wouldn't lie to you, and I'm not gonna lie when I say you're being a dick."

"How dare you speak to us like that! Go to your room!", his mother yelled.

What-fucking-ever. He hadn't looked forward to their crap, he wasn't going to hide his dislike of it when it was happening. He slammed the door to his room, locking it from the inside as an extra measure. On his bed he thought of the next day, finally Shiro was giving him a chance. But it was still too soon to tell if he liked him back, he would wait for a good opportunity to find out.


	5. The test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sendak joins in with Shiro and his friends amidst some tension, and later he gets help from his new ally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double Update 2/2  
> I have a bit of these written out, so I'd like to get them released quicker.

"So, about that dance, who do you think is going with who?" 

Ayka was an eager one for the latest news about everyone else. Most people attributed it to her being a girl, but the same people forget that they were just as likely to be curious about someone else. She never tried to spread rumors, just interested in her options regarding dates or other such things. Shiro didn't think of her a bad person for it, but he wouldn't have delved so deeply into other people's lives as she did.

"Well, I heard-", Mizal stopped talking when she saw Sendak sit down at the table, only two seats away. Her and the other four galra besides him immediately glared at his direction.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?", one of them said.

He looked between his food, the girls, and Shiro. The only thing he could do was take a bite of his sandwich while they looked on.

Ayka rolled her eyes, "Ugh, whatever. Shiro, do you wanna sit somewhere else?"

"No, I'm fine right here", he said in an unusually casual way.

The familiar hum of a taser started near them. Shiro hadn't told the sentry about Sendak sitting with him that day, and it moved the weapon dangerously close to the galra.

"Student: Sendak, you have 30 seconds to remove yourself from this dining area. This violation will-"

"He's sitting with us today", Shiro said, still speaking normally.

The sentry looked at him for a few seconds, then powered down it's taser. "I will stand guard nearby", it moved away to the side, closely observing Sendak's behavior.

  
Only the human and the newly invited galra were eating. The others looked in stunned silence, Mizal didn't know what Shiro was doing. Just a day ago he was talking about how weird it was for Sendak to be drawing him, and now he was bringing him over?

"Did you hit your head this morning?", she asked.

He shook his head and laughed, "I'm just giving a small test."

"He gave you a black eye!", another girl said in a quiet, but harsh tone.

"Look, you can't tell anyone else about this. But he didn't actually punch me."

"What are you talking about? He'd been doing this for weeks, of course he gave you-"

Shiro banged his fork down, "Sendak didn't do anything to my books. In fact, he tried giving me back my stuff. Everything else is on them", he pointed to the team. "He decided to let himself get the short end of the stick as a punishment for everything he did before that."

One of the girls looked to Sendak, "Is he telling the truth?"

Sendak didn't say anything, only a nod, afraid to speak in case they tried interrupting him. His ears were laid nearly flat on his head, an unintentional reflex for his nervous mind.

"Surprisingly noble of you", Ayka said, not disguising her annoyance.

Sendak swallowed the last bite of his sandwich, "Is it that hard to believe I can change?"

"Yes", she drank her tiny milk bottle in one swig.

"Despite what you think, I can. You don't have to be my friend, and I don't have to be yours, I'm just here to let him know I'm a better galra."

She slightly sprang up and pointed a finger at him, "You don't get to talk to him!"

Shiro let some air through his nose, "I'm beginning to think inviting him over was a mistake."

"Well, thank you-", Shiro put a hand up to signal he wasn't finished.

"It might've been a mistake because you refuse to see a better part of him."

Mizal jumped to her defense, "How can she see a better part when it wasn't even there?"

"I've said time and again, and everyone else has, how he was an asshole to me. But I'm starting to think he's changing, as difficult as that is to think. I wouldn't even be sitting here with you unless he stepped in to tell the truth. And Mizal, you're one of the first people I revealed this to, you should be able to see something different in him."

"But he's the reason we got mad at you in the first place!", Ayka wasn't going to quell feelings on him anytime, even if Shiro stepped in.

"That may be, but he's putting an effort forward. I mean, I keep saying he's trying, but what he's shown lately is he's doing better. Whatever view you have of him, I won't try to stop it. Cut him some slack, he hasn't sat with anyone for a couple of weeks now", he went back to eating.

"I've got my eyes on you..", Mizal said, holding up a knife.

Sendak wasn't surprised that they didn't trust him, but he didn't want to sit there anymore if this was going to be a regular thing. He didn't blame them, he might not have trusted someone if they did all the things he had done.

"I'll..just go back to my table", he said, no one said anything to stop him, instead a 'good' from one of the girls only helped send him off.

Some of the other tables were visibly shaken at him having sat down with his enemy. But they were even more shaken by seeing Shiro following him, even Sendak wasn't expecting him to. He hadn't even noticed the human at first, not until he sat and turned to see him approaching with his things.

"Don't question it", he said, setting his bags down while clumsily putting his lunch on the table with the other hand.

  
It wasn't just Shiro's friends watching him, it was the whole cafeteria. The sentry didn't say anything, he just moved to stand near them at their new destination. Sendak saw Haxus give him a poisonous look, but he didn't care. What was important was he could talk to Shiro without any more interruptions.

"So, this feels a little weird."

Shiro frowned and played with his food, "It doesn't feel good, they don't want me sitting here. It's more of a concern for me, rather than hating you."

Sendak offered a small smile, "You shouldn't have to feel bad, you're standing up for someone. Though for me, even if I'm a piece of shit, that's surprising."

"Look, you haven't had any friends here. I don't want anyone to have to go through that, even you. They'll come around, hopefully. If not, then tough luck for me."

"For you? Wouldn't you just sit back there?", he pointed a thumb at his table's direction.

Shiro looked a little uneasy with himself, "I'm not gonna let you be another victim. I know you're the reason that you got yourself here, but I'd nobody go through this. Besides, that's what you wanted to do, right?"

Their conversation would've continued, but a sudden paper ball was thrown on the table. Sendak looked over at the league's table, a few of them were laughing at him. He grabbed it and straightened it out as best he could, frowning when he saw what was written. Shiro took the paper and frowned too, such an ugly word to send someone.

'Faggot'

"Well, we don't need to see that anymore", he ripped up the paper and put the pieces into a little pile.

Sendak was confused, "Why do they keep saying that to me?"

"Well if they can't really say anything to me, so they have to settle for the one trying to hang out with the gay kid."

Sendak took a hand to his fur, "Yeah, but what does that mean?"

Shiro frowned as he spoke, "If you were still being a dick, you would call me a faggot, because I'm gay. Obviously rude, but I'm kind of impressed they took their time to find out the slur for it."

"I'm not", he said, taking a drink of his water.

"Hey, don't let 'em get to you, right? You're a better guy than them, and they know it."

When they finished eating, they used up the lunchtime to keep talking to each other. They hardly noticed the time going by, and the bell rang in the middle of a conversation. Sendak went off on his own, turning back to see Shiro talking to his friends. it was good to see they weren't mad at him, from what he could tell.

 

 

His detention that day started normally, there was an assigned sentry to attend the classroom rather than a living, breathing teacher. There wasn't anything else to do, and per Shiro's advice, he decided to work on some of his assignments. The problem wasn't how difficult it was, his attention just drifted away a lot of the time. But his math was another thing entirely. When he saw the algrebra equations, nothing seemed to click. It just didn't make sense, they didn't act like Galran numbers. He knew he was trying to learn how to use different ones, his work was no different from what other members of the class had to do. Still, it was a struggle for him to even complete one problem.

"Still stuck on that?", someone said.

He looked up to see Shiro, he was being good on his word to help him study. Sendak smiled and set aside his pencil to shake his hand.

"How formal of you", the human said with a laugh.

Sendak straightened out his paper, "Next time I'll just ignore you then. Anyways, you're here to help me study?"

Shiro nodded and put his bag on a desk, shoving it over to the right of Sendak. It was a little hard considering it's larger size meant for galra, but Sendak helped him pull his seat along. 

"So, what are you trying to do?", he asked, pencil ready.

"Something called functions, f parenthesis x I think", he looked closer at the paper to make sure he was right.

"F of x is how you pronounce that. Good to see you can recognize the writing, all we need to do is make sure you understand it."

"Right, and how far am I?", he pushed the sheet of paper with a function table closer to him.

"Welllll....", it looked like his study partner was just beginning, ".....not far. Some of this is starting material, actually. Do you have that much trouble understanding it?"

His ears lowered in embarrassment, "I'm not doing very well, no."

"Are you failing?", he didn't mean any harm in it.

"Well, if by failing you mean not understanding it, yes. If you meant a teacher that hates me like the rest of them and doesn't help, then yes. If you meant getting back every piece of homework or test with a shitty grade, then yeah, I'm fucking failing!"

Shiro had moved away from him, afraid of the galra clenching his fists up. Sendak saw the unintended reaction and relaxed himself. A sentry looked over for a moment, but Shiro signalled it away.

"I understand getting bad grades suck, and it's even worse when you're trying. But what's important is I can help you now. So why don't I do that and we go from there?"

"I shouldn't yell, I just...lose my temper a lot", he took deep breaths as he spoke.

"Ok, so you see the x there, right?", he moved a pencil to the sign.

"Yeah, what about it?", Sendak didn't know what he was doing.

Shiro drew an example as he spoke, "You insert a number in for the sign."

Sendak looked between him and the paper, "Those are letters."

Shiro sighed, it was going to be a long session. And it certainly seemed to drag often, he had to drill in that they weren't just letters, they were signs for numbers to be put in. Then he had to explain how the input worked, taking even longer. Each time he looked up at the clock, it seemed like only a few minutes had passed. Eventually he got Sendak into a little bit of a recognizing pattern. Once he brought up similarities to Galran numbers and math, it helped Sendak see them as well. Algebra wasn't too different from what Sendak had learned in regular math classes, but it was still hard to adapt to it. The both of them had grown comfortable, maybe a little too comfortable, Sendak hardly noticed when his hand had accidentally set on the same spot as Shiro's.

Neither of them spoke for a second, their faces slowly rose away from their hands. Shiro awkwardly smiled as though it were a joke, Sendak wasn't too happy with himself. His hand found it's way off the soft feeling of- Forget that, he just touched someone's hand without their permission. It didn't help that Shiro kept his silence, it would've been nice for him to say something, even if it was bad.

"Sorry about that, trying to grab a pencil near you", he tried working on his functions.

Shiro laughed, "You mean my pencil?"

Sendak looked at the pencil in his hand, it was, in fact, not his own. His was still left next to the paper, untouched, and not usable as an excuse.

He held out the pencil, "Just...take it back. I didn't mean to touch your hand, I don't want to seem like a creep."

"It's fine, really. Accidents happen to everyone", he grabbed the pencil back to his own hand, Sendak tugged at his ear in self-anger.

The sentry at the front of the room stood up, Shiro didn't know what it meant, but Sendak had gotten used to it's shuffling around that time of the day.

 

"Student: Sendak, you are free to leave the premises of the building."

"Damn, gotta learn some other time I guess", he said.

Shiro unzipped his bag to put everything he got out back in, "How about in a few days?"

"I might be pre-occupied with detention."

Shiro chuckled, "You like jokes, huh?"

Sendak smiled, "Well, if you like hearing them."

"As long as they're good. Oh, don't forget what I've caught you up on, even if it's not very much. Practice at home, or in free time here, you shouldn't be failing if you've shown yourself capable of learning."

"Got it. Do you wanna walk again?", he'd hoped for some more one-on-one time with him.

Shiro shook his head, "Sorry, my mom's picking me up for dinner."

"Enjoy yourself, ok?"

"Will do", he left the classroom to just Sendak and the sentry.

Sendak left the class soon afterwards, it was a short walk to the school's entry. He hummed a little to himself, happy with the way things were going so far. But someone stepped out from the bathroom, someone who didn't need to be there. Haxus again, and wearing the same malicious smile he always did. But Sendak didn't care, he walked past him without a single glance.

"So, holding his hand now?", that made him turn back.

"You don't know what you're talking about", his lying wasn't good, he didn't care.

Haxus smiled and laughed quietly, "Well, I think that's off from what I saw. You didn't take your hand away from his for almost half a minute. Probably seemed longer to you, finally getting to grab the human's hand."

"Fuck off", he said, walking off again.

"He doesn't like you."

Sendak stopped again, a furious look forming on his face, but he didn't turn around. He'd already faced him once, he didn't need to give him anymore of his own time.

"He'll never like you, you're just his pity friend. Funny, he was like that once, before you made him popular. I only see one loser now, the one who'll never get anyone to really like him."

Sendak practically punched the door open rather than pushing it. Haxus was an ass, he knew that, but was he right? After all, no one else besides Shiro was willing to make his acquaintance. But he decided to try and drop it, no one from the team would get under his skin any more than they did already. The only thing that mattered was his time with Shiro, whoever else was or wasn't his friend was only a minor concern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, you can put criticisms or suggestions in the comments.


	6. The Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sendak gets told about a dance around the school, and later something happens that he never expected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The week just blew by for me, but that doesn't mean I forgot about this story

After a few weeks, and a few arguments, Sendak could sit with them with little problems. He still didn't try to speak unless spoken to, afraid that jumping into someone else's talking might be rude. He certainly didn't want to get antagonized again, so he became quiet. Unusually quiet in fact, one could compare him to how Shiro kept to himself a few months ago. Without his sports to latch onto, he settled into his studies, which did help improve his grades overall

"Sendak?", one of them said.

He looked up from his soupy meal, "Yeah?"

"Who are you taking to the dance?"

He coughed for a second, "The what?"

"Don't tell me you haven't seen the posts around the school", Ayka had a light laugh with her words.

He blinked between his words, "Not many thoughts about it lately, sorry."

"Well, anyone's available. You know that right?"

He looked around the cafeteria, "Yeah, look at them all. I'm sure they want me just as much as the rest of you."

"Fair enough. I'm thinking of taking Elkez", she looked over at another table, a smallish but strong galra was there. He stood out for his sideburns, unusually furry for galra that showed primarily skin.

"You don't want him, he cheated on his last girlfriend", Mizal said, unusually spiteful for an easily guessed reason.

"Well I'm not looking for someone perfect, just someone to dance with. Hence why they call them a dance."

Shiro hadn't said anything about this either, he didn't seem very interested in going. In his defense, he was practically the only gay kid in school. Anyone else was either uninterested or closeted. Sendak wanted to ask him, he just didn't know how. And he wasn't sure if he was ready to forgive him enough to go to a dance with him.

"What's that look on your face?", Mizal said, she'd spotted his thinking appearance.

"It's nothing", he went back to focusing on his food.

"No, no, no, no. You thought of who to ask, didn't you?", her interest was raising, much to his annoyance.

"It's none of your damn business!", he said, the rest of them went silent from his sudden anger. He hadn't meant to get that way, he just didn't want them to know he wanted to ask Shiro, the only human in school, the one he bullied, the most unlikely person to accept.

"I'm sorry, it's just....it's really unlikely anyone would want to go with me. Everytime I think of someone, I play it out in my head, and it just doesn't work out."

*Ring* They didn't have time to take his apology as fact. They went past him without a word, most of them peeved from his outburst. Shiro looked disappointed, that affected him more than anything. The only one who could fix this was the one he'd yelled at before, hopefully she would let him speak to her.

"Mizal, can I talk to you for a minute?"

She stopped walking to hear him out, "This better be a damn good apology."

He whispered to keep it secret, "It's about who I want to ask to the dance."

"If this is about asking me, then it's a no."

He rolled his eyes and his head close to her ears. As soon as he mentioned Shiro's name, her eyes went wide. She took a step back and signalled him to follow her, both of them found their way inside the women's restroom. She did a quick check through the stalls to make sure they were empty, then she closed the bathroom door almost completely.

"What the hell, dude?", she said, raising a hand in the air.

"I..like him. I thought you knew that already", his hands went deeper into his pockets.

"I thought you were just trying to be friends with him to make yourself look better."

He smacked a hand to his face, "No, I- That's shitty, I'm not aiming to be shitty. If he just wants to be friends, then that's fine. I wanna slowly take this along. He'd like dances, they're always great as far as I've seen."

She looked bored, "Well this isn't my problem. I won't tell, but you really didn't need to tell me", her hand started to pull the door open.

"$50 GAC if you help me", he said, making her hand freeze.

"I'm listening, but maybe $60 would be better", she looked at him with an intrigued stare.

"How about $70?", he hoped that was enough.

"$100", she wasn't holding back.

"I can settle for $85 , plus I'll buy your lunches for a week."

"Deal", she held out a hand, and they shook on it.

He sighed and pulled out his wallet, handing her a couple of $20 GAC bills. It was a lot for him to spend, but Shiro would be worth it.

She looked at the amount closely, "Wait a second....this is only $60!"

He put his wallet away despite her whines, "You'll get the rest later, that's already most of what I owe. Find out if Shiro would hate the idea of going to the dance with me, and that money is as good as yours."

"Fiiiine. You better not skimp out, and you'd better be prepared to possibly receive a bad answer. Now, after you", she held the door open for him, they'd both be getting in trouble for being late, but that wasn't a big deal.

 

  
Mizal quickly went to her class that she should've been at 5 minutes before. Her teacher scolded her and wrote a note to let her know she would be getting a small punishment. An extra assignment, joy to the world for all she cared. For now, she would quietly talk to Shiro.

"Hey, he apologized to me. He's going through a bit of rough time on his own, he's afraid of people rejecting him because of his own reputation."  
Shiro wrote as he whispered, "I really wish he wouldn't get so mad all the time."

"Yeah, he's not as nice sometimes. And he doesn't talk so much either, kinda like you used to be quiet."

Shiro erased a grammar mistake and blew away his eraser bits, "I still don't know why the school doesn't use digital pads for this. Anyways, yeah, he's changed a lot."

"I feel sorry for him, not something I saw myself doing. If not anyone else here, then he could ask someone at the table."

"Did he ask you to talk to me?", Shiro wasn't one to be tricked anymore.

"What? No, why would I ask you-"

"If I wanted to go to the dance with him? I don't know, honestly. He's been really nice so far, and he's always funny, it's just hard to think about because of....everything. Y'know?"

"Well, I will just keep that information to myself and the guy that paid me to ask."

Shiro snorted, making a few heads turn. He hid his face, that was a little too loud for them apparently. When they went back to their own work, he went back to his quiet conversation.

"Sorry, did you say he paid you to ask me? How much?"

She pulled out the bills she'd received, "$60 hard-earned GAC-aroo's. Plus $25 more and my lunch paid for a week."

He blushed, trying to hide it when he realized. The teacher loudly called the two out for talking, in a polite way, so they went to writing when he wasn't paying attention anymore.

'So is that a yes?'

He took a minute to write his response, she got a bit impatient. Then she sighed when she saw he'd written a lot, again, like always.

'It's not a yes. Or a no. Just a maybe. I think it's really sweet that he would pay so much just to find out if I was interested in going to the dance. But like I said, our friendship is still a little awkward, it might get like that even more if we went to the dance together. It's not that I don't like him, I just don't know if I like him that way.'

She wrote out a short response, about to hand it back to Shiro, but a hand snatched it away mid-pass. The teacher looked between the two while the rest of the class stifled their whispers. She didn't know how long he'd been watching them both, but he wasn't happy. He looked over the paper for a minute, before crumpling it up and throwing it away.

"If you want to talk about your love interest's, then do it between classes."

He wrote another punishment note for her before going back to his desk. The rest of the class giggled for a second before he gave them a warning look. Shiro gave her a shrug with a mouthed 'sorry', then he went back to writing. This was costing her some punishment, but the money was worth it. When she was out of class, she met up with Sendak in the hall.

"Did he say yes?"

"He doesn't know. Ask him later, he might have an answer then. Now cough it up", she held out a hand for the rest of her pay.

"I would've liked a clearer answer", he dropped the extra bills on her palm.

She pocketed the cash quickly, "Less complaining, you got what you asked for. Good luck, I know you don't expect that from me, but take it regardless."

"Yes ma'am", he shook her hand before he walked off.

So, Shiro wasn't entirely opposed to going to the dance with him. She didn't give him much detail, so that made it riskier. He'd just have to wait until after he was finished with his detention that day. And it was a study day with Shiro as well, so he could ask him then. The few minutes before his tutor arrived seemed to drag, he couldn't stand it. Suddenly his ears perked up at the sound of the door, he smiled at the sight of the human.

"Hey, can I ask you-"

"Not now, later. You have work to do."

Sendak slumped back in exaggerated anguish, his mind screaming 'whhyyyyyy' as part of it. But that wasn't the way to approach it, being a drama queen never helped anyone. It was better to show his progress to Shiro. His grades had considerably improved, impressing the human. But practice never hurt, nor did learning anything else, and the human definitely had plenty more to teach. They were great partners, Sendak listened intently to each instruction, Shiro was precise in his directions. His student was able to move through each lesson quickly, he was glad to see him adapting so well, maybe even proud of him. Their study sessions breezed through time now, he rarely needed to go back over an aspect of a lesson with him. They didn't even notice the sentry getting up until it spoke them out of their study trance.

"Student: Sendak, you are allowed to leave the premises of the building."

He quickly packed up, "Great, fantastic, Shiro, we need to talk outside."

His tutor wasn't even halfway finished with putting his stuff away, "Well gimme a second, no need to rush it along."

Sendak tapped his fingers on the desk, making Shiro go slower. He laughed at Sendak's groan, finding it funny to annoy someone being rude. When he was finished he went out to talk with Sendak. He knew the question coming up, but he still wanted to hear it.

"So, you know how the dance is coming up. You don't have anyone to go with, and neither do I, soo.....do you wanna with me? Be like bachelors?"

Shiro smiled and blushed, "That's a kind offer. But I should think about it, get back to me tomorrow and I should have an answer."

Sendak smiled, "That's fine, 'no need to rush' after all."

"Oh shut up. See you tomorrow", he said, hoisting his bag behind his back and heading for a side-exit.

 

 

Sendak smiled and went towards the regular doors, confident in a partner for the dance. He would've gone through normally, if not for someone hitting his back suddenly. He turned to see who was trying to start a fight, Haxus as per usual. Sendak wouldn't beat him up, but he would drag him into the restroom and threaten him away.

"You don't scare me", he said, holding him against the wall.

"He still doesn't like you", he said.

Sendak tightened his grip on him, "He's going to the dance with me."

"You should be dating other galra", he said, frowning at him instead of his usual creepy smile.

"And who else in the school wants to-", he was stopped by Haxus pulling his head in for a kiss.

The shock of it kept him like that for a few seconds. Haxus tried pushing a tongue in, making his unwilling kisser pull away in disgust. He wouldn't hold him up against the wall anymore, not if that would happen. He wasn't mad at him, he just didn't know what to say. His bully couldn't think of anything either, suddenly looking scared, at what Sendak didn't seem to know. Haxus started pacing back and forth a few feet, he still wasn't speaking. Some tears started going down from his yellow eyes, Sendak couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

He tried stopping him, "Hey, just..", Haxus smacked his hand away, angrily breathing through grit teeth bared at his unwilling crush.

"Don't touch me!", he quickly went out of the bathroom.

Sendak tried stopping him, he just needed someone to talk to. Even if Haxus was an ass, he gave him some sympathy for the tough position of liking someone who didn't like him back. That, and the fact of dealing with hiding his sexuality from others. His kisser didn't say anything, ignoring Sendak calling to him. He remained silent even as he got into his car, the galra he kissed was knocking on the windows.

"Hey! Don't just-", the car started and sped away. He sighed to himself as he watched him drive off, wondering what was going through his mind.

So, he was jealous of Shiro the entire time. And now he'd just put everything on kissing Sendak, but it failed on him. There wasn't any way that he felt the same way, but he would try to talk to his bully. Even if they would still end up being enemies, Haxus still deserved to be let down properly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, you can leave any criticisms or suggestions in the comments


	7. The confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Sendak deals with Haxus and what he did, he still waits on Shiro for an answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter, and next time I'll release two chapters as a double update.

"Sendak, is something wrong?"

A lot of things were wrong. He still didn't know what Shiro's answer was, his grades were better but still average, but most of all, Haxus. It was still unresolved, and each time he looked over the galra pretended he couldn't see him. This had to stop, he couldn't just kiss Sendak and try to forget it happened. The only reasonable solution he could think was leaving to privately confront him, though the original question he'd gotten remained unanswered. Many of the team members expectedly frowned at seeing him come closer.

"Well, well, look who's come crawling back to us", Haxus said at Sendak's arrival.

"You and me, bathroom, now."

"Fuck off, human-lover", one of them said.

Haxus started to get up, "No, no, this'll be good. I wanna hear if he's apologizing for screwing up the team. Be back, or not, depending on if he decides to be a savage again."

  
Sendak ignored his insults and quickly walked over to the bathroom. The two of them were silent the whole way, both were thinking of the same thing, but it was still an open area. When he got there, he made sure to wait until they were the only two in the bathroom. Then he shut the door, making sure it was locked. If anyone came by, he would tell them he was talking to someone.

"You should've talked to me yesterday", he said.

Haxus frowned, "About what? Tell me, do you think it's easy for me to be a faggot? If they find out, I'm off the team, or I might as well be. I'm supposed to hate you, and now..."

Sendak stopped his thoughts, "That goes unsaid. You don't need to call yourself that, just say gay. It's completely understandable to want to stay hidden with it, I'm not judging you for staying like this. But what you should do is stop putting yourself down for it, that's not the problem."

"Oh, silly me. 'Hiding it is fine, being ashamed of it is fine, just don't actually be ashamed of it'. What the hell am I supposed to do then?"

"You don't need to be open, I know there are assholes. I know the rest of the team would be jerks about it. You just don't need to beat yourself up. I'm not saying to go out there, gay guns blazing, but keeping it bottled up like a dirty secret isn't helping you."

"You don't understand...", he slumped to the floor.

Sendak stood over him, "What? What could I possibly not understand about taking shit from everyone?"

"When I was younger, nearly 12, my dad...he beat me. I was curious and looked up why I had these...feelings. It wasn't even porn, it was just an explanation about how some people have different interests. And he saw everything...", he started to cry.

Sendak sat next to him, "Shit......I....I didn't mean to-"

"Visionize the guy who raised you, the one who loved you as a son, and then make him despise you. Then make yourself set all these goals that will never fix it, you live in fear of him. Any little slip-up is just another excuse for him to say 'Faggot's don't get good things'. And the mother, she won't do anything, not that she's afraid of him, she just agrees with him. Now take that pressure and combine it with friends."

Sendak put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry, really, I am. But something needs to be clear. You can't just be shitty to me, I know it's hard for you at home, but that doesn't mean it's my fault. If you want to leave your house, go somewhere better, I strongly suggest that."

He sniffed, "What about us?"

Sendak was silent for a moment, "It wouldn't work out. I already didn't like the kiss yesterday, I don't think it'll be good today."

"Do you even know if he likes you back? Do you really know?", he wasn't saying it to get under Sendak's skin, but it still came off rudely.

"I don't know. But I know that I like him, and I don't feel for you the same way. You were one of my friends, and after you weren't you started being a dick. Because you were jealous?"

Haxus nodded slowly, tugging at one of his ears in shame.

"If you want someone to like you, you have to be kind. Bringing people up instead of putting them down goes a long way. Maybe you don't realize, but being a 'bad boy' just comes off as being a douche."

Haxus looked at his jacket, "I know. I'm sorry, for the past few weeks. If anything, I can leave you alone. I don't know about the other guys, they'll do...whatever. If I say no, they'll just cast me out like..."

"Like you did to me?", Sendak looked at Haxus's jacket with a needing gaze. As much as he hated the team, he still missed playing for it. The cheers from the crowd when he beat an opponent, the thrill of dodging their attacks, having it burned in his mind didn't help to forget about it.

*Bang, bang* "I GOTTA GO, HURRY UP"

"GO TO THE ONE ON THE OTHER SIDE", Sendak shouted back.

He looked back to Haxus, "Are they really your friends if they would hate you?"

"I don't...know."

Sendak stood up and went near the door, "You should think on it. You're not a bad person for liking guys, but treating others like shit will only isolate you further. Trust me, I know how that feels."

"I know", Haxus got himself standing as well, wiping his face clean of tears and drying it for good measure.

"If you're going back to that table, you need an excuse for why you've been gone so long."

Haxus laughed quietly, "I don't know, I could just say I was interested in what you had to say. As long as I say I outright rejected any friendliness, it should be fine."

"We don't have to be enemies", Sendak said.

"But we can't necessarily be friends", the slimmer galra returned.

 

  
He opened the door and walked past him without another word. Sendak was disappointed, he'd hoped Haxus would be willing to try to be a better person. But change like that doesn't come easy, he knew that more than most. If anything, he still held out hope that Haxus wouldn't be jealous anymore, that he would find someone special in his life. The girls looked at him with a look hungry for details.

"What happened?", a shorter one said.

Sendak pushed some salad around, "Just something that needed closure, personal matter."

"Ok then....still doesn't give us an answer."

"He and I had unfinished business, I tried talking it out, it didn't go exactly as I wanted. Does that sound satisfying?", his tone was edging on anger.

Shiro spoke between his chewing, "You should stop getting so mad all the time."

Sendak turned to him, "Speaking of you, I still need an answer."

"An answer to what?", Ayka said.

Sendak gave a warning glare to Mizal, she nodded and kept her mouth shut.

Shiro put his sandwich down and set his head on one hand, "Well if you want to hide it so badly, then I guess I don't need to tell you, do I?", he enjoyed Sendak's frustrated face.

"I- Fine", he turned his face to the rest of the table.

"Now when I say this, you need to promise not to have a bad reaction. Do you promise that?"

They nodded, now very interested in the answer Shiro was holding, and what the original question stated.

"I asked him to go to the dance with me", he said, looking down at his tray and signalling towards Shiro.

"YOU ASKED SHIRO TO GO TO THE DANCE WITH YOU?", Ayka blurted out loudly, making heads turn.

Mizal put her hand over the loudmouth, "YES, I DID. THANKS FOR YELLING IT."

The rest of the galran's lost interest, save for Shiro's table. Sendak mouthed a 'Thank you' to her, his gratitude much deeper than that simple saying. In the meantime, he glared at Ayka for freaking out. Mizal still hadn't taken her hand away, so Ayka forced it off.

"Did you like him this whole time?", she whispered.

Sendak's fur hid his blushes, ".....You don't know me. I just wanted to go with him because his options are limited."

A smug smile developed on her, "His options being galra that have a crush on him?"

He was lucky to have fur hiding his burning cheeks, though his face was still flustered enough to show his feelings.

"Shiro is a very good friend", he said, annoyance taking over him.

"And I bet you want him to be a very good boyfriend, don't you?"

Sendak's temper rose again, "I don't give a damn what you think! Shiro, do you have an answer or not?"

The realization that he'd done it again hit him. Shiro sighed and remained silent, as did the rest of the group. Why did Sendak have to get so angry? Couldn't he go just a week without another instance of getting ticked over nothing? Out of all the things he had changed, he couldn't stop that pesky temper.

"I'm sorry, I-"

*RING*

 

  
They were dismissed again, and again Sendak found himself the antagonizer over a trivial thing. How was he going to go with Shiro at this rate? Probably never. If he wanted Shiro to take him seriously, he was going to need some a serious personality makeover. Controlling his temper for one, he could obviously foresee himself yelling when he felt like it. And he could just be more sociable, there were other's to talk to besides those he sat with at lunch.

"Hey Kelltik, how're you doing?", he said, pointing a finger at someone he barely knew.

The stranger gave him a confused look, "....hi", then he walked off to his own interests.

 _'No one said it would be easy'_ , his mind told him as encouragement.

None of it proved to be easy for him, many people merely said 'hi' back as a courtesy rather than genuine enjoyment. Other's flat out gave him disrespectful returns, evidently not over seeing him as a dick. Over the rest of the day, he grew more and more tired of trying to make himself nicer, giving up as a final outcome. He did try, and he could've tried harder, but it didn't matter. The most he could do was keep his temper at bay. His detention's were still normal at least, any minute now Shiro would get there. After all, it had only been twenty minutes, so he was just running a little late. Or a little more than that, forty minutes was less understandable. Or just not showing up, unusual since he almost always came to Sendak's assistance. Not that he needed to have it anymore, he was understanding Algebra mostly, and could work through it on his own, but he still enjoyed the human's company.

After enough time, the sentry stood up and dismissed him from his detention. One thing above all, he would go to Shiro's and find out what was happening. It really was only a short trip away from his own house, about 15 minutes past it. His door came into his view, hopefully he would be home. He knocked a little frantically, not loudly, just in quick succession.

A shorter human woman answered it, "You don't have to- Oh."

"Is Shiro here?", Sendak asked.

"He had a lot to say about you losing your temper, I'm not sure if you can be trusted."

Sendak frowned, "I would never get angry with him, and it wasn't even my fault."

"It never is it seems."

"I just need to talk to him for a minute, it's important, and you know I wouldn't do anything to him."

She brought a finger dangerously close to his nose, "That's rich coming from someone like you."

"I like him, ok? Is that what you wanted to hear? I want to date him, I want to hold his hand, I want to-", another figure stepped next to her, Shiro. And he had heard every word from him. Sendak was silent, though his lack of words said the most, additionally bringing a hand to his face to tug at the fur.

"Hey Shiro, I assume you heard that?", he asked, hoping for an answer that wouldn't be disastrous.

Shiro talked to his mom for another second then stepped outside. He shut the door to give the two some privacy, his mom didn't need to hear this.

"Why did you come here?"

The galra pulled the strings on his hoodie, "I wanted to ask if you still wanted to go to the dance with me, but I don't think you're interested anymore. I didn't want to be so forward with this, it was a last resort to tell the truth. I hope she knows I'm not full of bad intentions."

"I like you too", Shiro said.

Sendak's ears shot up, "You...like me? As a friend or more than that?"

"Right now, as a friend. I'm not entirely sure if I like you enough to date you. You're sweet Sendak, and you have changed a lot, most of it better. But you need to stop getting so worked up over nothing. Don't just tell yourself you want to, make yourself consider your behaviour."

"I know, and I can put myself under control. I'm too prone to shouting my way out of a situation. I'll try not to get pissed off so easily, I don't want to be a guy who pushed people around but can't take simple teasing."

Shiro smiled, "That's good to hear, but only as a first impression. Show it to me and the others, and you'll be forgiven."

"Ok. And do you have an answer?", he asked, still hooked on going to the dance with him.

"Oh, that..........right. After a lot of consideration, both good and bad points included, my answer..", he kept the response a delay to excite him, "..is a yes."

Sendak grinned and took him into a hug, "You don't know how much that means to me!", then he realized he was hugging him without his permission.

He took his arms off and stepped back, "I got really excited, sorry."

It was then that he noticed Shiro blushing, though the human didn't seem to notice it.

"It's...fine. Nothing, really. See you at school?"

Sendak started to turn around, "Yeah, thanks again. Sorry for making it a little awkward a minute ago."

Shiro started to step back into his house, "It's ok. More flattering than offending."

 

 

The galra waved at him before turning to walk back to his own house. Shiro waved back and shut the door, smiling to himself. Such an innocent galra now, unlike how he was just months ago. So far he was fine with his new friendship, but maybe Sendak could be turned into a stage past that. His mother was still standing nearby, she had been watching through a side window. Her son was smiling, much to her confusion.

"What happened?", she said.

"I'm going to my first dance", he said.

"With him?!"

"Yes mom,", he grabbed a laptop on the table, "I'm going with him. Now I just need a tuxedo."

He hadn't expected to be going with Sendak. It wasn't what everyone else thought either. But damn, was Sendak a sweet guy when he could be. And if the dance went well, there was always time to consider actually dating him. Maybe they could finally go to the movies, like he'd suggested so long ago. But he wasn't looking at movies, he put away those plans in favor of looking at a particularly dark black shade of an outfit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, just leave criticisms or suggestions that I can realistically put into the story in the comments


	8. The hookup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will shift attention to Haxus, who will be going out on his own to find someone to be interested in. And NSFW warning, there's a bit of sex in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When writing this story, I didn't expect to be wanting to write a chapter focused on a different character. But, it'll all unfold together, and I felt it better to show what he went through instead of just leaving him as a plain antagonistic type.

"What did that freak-lover do?"

Haxus had gotten back to his team, he looked mostly normal, though not as confident as before. What they didn't need to know was he had an emotionally exhausting talk with someone that didn't like him back. Gods, only a few minutes ago he was thoroughly denied, his feelings set ablaze. What they could know was something he made up on the spot.

"Tried to ask if we could be friends again, 'Sure' I said. We'll be going out for ice cream and playing in the park later."

"What?", a burlier one said.

"A joke, Myzax. Like I would actually want to hang out with that traitor", he said, sipping his drink afterwards. It was all bullshit, but keeping up appearances for now was all he could do.

Myzax started a slow laugh, "That's pretty good."

"It wasn't meant to be", he said, annoyance in his tone, but unusual to speak that way to his friend.

His gigantic friend returned the same tone, "I was trying to say you're funny."

Haxus turned to face him with a scowl, "And I'm saying it's not as funny as you're trying to make it."

Another one cut into their spat, "Just let it go, he's laughing at your joke. I agree with you, it wasn't that great."

"Do you agree with me out of honesty or because I'm the captain now?"

Myzax squinted suspiciously at his mood, "What did he say to you? Really?"

He wouldn't reveal anything, but he could make up some other lie to convince them.

"Something about how the team is worse with me as the leader. Which is complete shit, Myzax is the perfect replacement for Sendak's strength. And I didn't ask to be elected to this, that's just how it happened. Still, I wonder if some of what he said is true."

Another one of the teammates pat his back, "Fuck him, he's the one that left us just so he could try to screw a human. His opinion doesn't matter."

"Yeah, he's just trying to bring us down 'cause he's not here anymore", another one of them said.

Haxus knew he was lying, but some of that was based on his own self-doubts. He didn't know if they were telling the truth or not, the pressure of being the leader still beared down hard. The important thing was that they believed him, they wouldn't prod any further.

"You guys know real loyalty, not like him. Look at them, talking about the latest boys to date, those two included. Faggots and faggot lovers all, degenerates to the school."  
The rest of the table laughed, "You can say that again", one of them said amidst the hearty laughs.

' _I won't_ ', his silent mind told them.

  
The rest of his day went well, though he was still thinking about what Sendak said. Own up to who he was? Find someone else to date? How would he even do that in the school? Like anyone in his situation, he would find himself in a much, much smaller circle of friends if he came out. And even if the teachers wouldn't care, his coach even, his teammates would make it hell to be on the team. It was even worse considering most of the school hated the team for helping Sendak bully Shiro.

Where could he find a quick date?....Phone. He had one on him, and it was as modern as ever, with a holo-display that sprung up from it. In the privacy of the bathroom, he could connect to a dating-

'This application is not allowed under code 384: No sexual content'

*Sigh* "Damn it."

Ok, so he would have to go home to do it. Checking up for a date on an internet connection that his parents constantly watched like birds of prey.

Fuuuuuuck that.

So, he would go home and tell his parents he was going out for some alone time. They wouldn't be happy, but they couldn't stop him if they wanted to. If he could find a shop, a place with free wi-fi, he could connect with someone. He just needed to make sure he would change first, he wouldn't be seen wearing the team's jacket, being recognizable and all.

"I'm home", he said, walking through the door straight to his room.

"How was your day, sweetie?", his mother said.

"I can't hear you when my door's closed!", he shouted back, changing between his shirts. Was his body even good enough? Not fat, but not ripped, and thin for a galra. Oh well, girls stayed thin for guys, guys probably stayed thin for..other guys. His shirt was a little tight, showing off his body well.

"I'm going out", he said to his uncaring parents.

"Without your jacket? You've been wearing it so much, aren't you proud of being captain?", she asked.

A rough voice entered from the other room, "Faggots aren't proud of sports, they're proud of taking a disease-riddled dick in their ass."

"You know he doesn't go on those sites anymore! Not for seven years! He's straight, he was just confused and you know it."

He appreciated the support from her, though he knew that deep down, she agreed with her husband. She was just too nice to say the word is all.

"I'll be gone for a bit, I might be back late. Love you", he gave his mom a quick hug.

"Bye dad", they were both perfectly fine with a shaky relationship to one another.

"Bye", the rough voice returned.

That went better than expected. Though he could've gone without his dad bringing him down again. When would he ever accept him? If he could just win the championship, his father would finally look on him with pride, like he used to. But he had enough of the depressing thoughts, he had to get to that shop. It was half an hour to get there by foot. He could've called a friend, but well, they would have to stay and hang out. He paid for a small drink, cheap 'coffee' is what they called it, apparently an earth drink popular enough for a niche crowd there. His phone's holo display flipped to off-mode, the screen was still big enough to see the text. Besides, it wouldn't be appropriate to so openly display a hookup app like that. He named himself 'prettyboy', after what his mother usually called him.

"Nearby, nearby....hello", he saw a picture of a handsome galra.

The profile included a picture of his body stripped down, though not completely nude. His body was furred completely, some parts of it fluffier than others, very dark purple in color. He was ripped, his massive arms and chest almost distracting from his built gut. A tail laid down on the floor beneath the galra's thighs, which were also appropriately muscular. A prominent bulge was in the underwear, desirable for sex. And his face, he smiled in the picture, making him all the better looking. His jaw was perfect, his nose not too big or small, and his eyes, something about them was pulling him in.

"Ok masctail, let's see if you want to meet me."

He snapped a picture of his face for his profile, then sent him a message. His response took a few minutes to arrive.

'Hello, prettyboy. Is your body as nice as your face?'

Haxus forgot about that. He was setting up a date and he forgot the damn stomach picture. He rushed to the bathroom, quickly pulling up his shirt to show off. He smiled nervously, something he didn't care about, as long as his body was acceptable. He sent the quickly snapped picture to him, receiving a quick response. There wasn't anyone else around, but it still felt risky.

'Hot. Wanna meet up?'

'Yes.'

'Where at?'

Haxus considered his options, only one available to him, 'Your place.'

'Don't wanna dirty your bed, huh? That's alright, I can treat you better here.'

He sent the address over after a minute. Haxus quickly typed it out in his phone, it was only about five minutes from the cafe. He thought himself lucky as he headed out, drink still in tow. It was a very off putting taste, rather than sweet or sour it was just...bitter. It was cheap anyway, he wouldn't feel guilt from throwing it out, and he probably wouldn't drink it at this 'masctail's' house anyhow. How others drank that he didn't know, but to each their own.

  
As he arrived at his date's door, he couldn't help but feel nervous. It was his first time doing anything beyond kissing, his time with others was restricted to hoping for love or the few seconds he had kissed Sendak. There weren't any others around, at least no one that really knew him, so going up to a stranger's house was fine. His hand knocked slowly, and soon a large figure answered the door. He gulped when he saw him standing there, a lot larger than his picture gave off.

"You're quick. You must be needing some action. Why don't you come inside and let me take care of you?", he stepped aside for him to come in.

Haxus took a deep breath and stepped inside. He heard the click of the door behind him, he had done it. He had gotten himself inside someone else's house, and not just for hanging out. He didn't show it, but his mind gave himself a pat on the back.

"What's your name?", he wondered.

The galra swished his tail on the floor, "Antok, what's yours?"

"Haxus", he said, the galra now called Antok getting a little too close, but just right for his comfort.

Haxus gulped, "So...we should have sex."

The bigger galra ran his hand on the smaller galra's ear, "Well, aren't you smart."

He leaned his head down and held his face for a kiss. Haxus's eyes stayed open, this was what a real, genuine one was like. He breathed faster, this was an intense feeling. Oh gods, he was getting pushed against the wall while they kissed and it felt...fantastic. But it also felt wrong, somehow. Like he wasn't meant to do this with him.

"I shouldn't be here", he quickly shot out after a minute of kissing, it's intended effect working well.

"What? Why not?", he stepped back, upset that they couldn't continue.

"I haven't done this yet and you're expecting someone with experience", he rubbed his arm in embarrassment.

Antok blinked a few times, "Haven't you even kissed anyone before?"

"Only one. And he doesn't return the same feelings I have."

Antok let one of his hands twirl around his tail, "You could've told me, you know. Matter of fact, why don't we start with how old you are. You look young, I don't wanna do anything with a sixteen-year old."

"I'm nineteen", he said, stepping closer to the door.

Antok laughed, "That's not so bad. In case you wondered, I'm twenty-four."

"Should I be here? With you?", he bit at his fingers.

"I don't want to put pressure on you to do anything. Do you want to stay and spend time with me?", he leaned an arm against a small staircase.

Haxus thought back to what he said to his parents, he was going to be out late. And he still had plenty of time left. He didn't need to sleep with him, not in that sense. He could stay and watch a movie with him, just the two of them, together.

"Let's..sit on the couch."

"I don't have one", he said, a little amused for some reason.

"What do you have?"

"A bed", that made his nervous date stop.

Haxus's hand shook with uncertainty, "I don't want to have sex. Not right now, I feel..odd."

Antok stepped closer, putting his hands on his shoulder. Haxus didn't know why, but he felt like he could trust him, just from the way he grabbed his shoulder. Comforting, the way family would hold him, and yet this stranger was treating him with that same hospitality.

"I won't try anything. You're not going the way I planned, but this isn't a bad turn of events."

Haxus sighed and took the galra's hand, "Take me to your bed."

"Alright", he led him up the stairs.

His room was big-ish. A bed was in the center, large enough for someone like Antok, and just big enough for a second man. It seemed to be Haxus's lucky day, he would be that second one. There was a holo-tv at the foot of the bed, they could just put something on and be done with it.

"I'll sit down", he said.

Haxus let himself see how comfortable the mattress was, it proved a good one. Soft feeling, no hardness to it, it was perfect for laying down. And that he did, testing it for himself, finding out how sleepy it made him. He could lay there for days, his own bed at home paled to this one. His eye's closed, a welcoming hand setting itself on one of his legs. It smelled strange, but not bad, a lot of time worth of Antok letting his scent seep into it.

"Really getting to know the mattress", his date said while flicking between movies, even winking at the unattentive date.

Haxus lifted his head, "Yes...I like it."

"Scoot over, I need to lay down too."

Haxus did as told, making more space for his broad-shouldered date. Antok sat up before starting the movie, it was a long one. Then he laid back, putting his arms behind his head. His date was still nervous, shying away from him like he wasn't ready. But slowly, every so often, he'd get closer and closer to his date's chest. He was close enough now to have an arm under him, making him flinch from the touch, or surprise of never being held. A low purr came from him, satisfying Antok enough to start purring as well.

"You're so nervous, you shouldn't be", he said to him.

"Why?"

Antok scratched a claw gently against him, "I like this. Whatever this is, an experiment for you, I'm glad to help you discover yourself."

  
Haxus settled more into him, using his stomach as a makeshift resting spot. The rest of the movie played that way, the two of them perfectly comfortable in his bed. Haxus felt happy, for once in his miserable, parent-pleasing life. Out of all the moments, he hadn't expected a complete stranger to brighten his day. When the credits rolled, his date turned it off and sat up.

"So, time for you to go?", he asked.

"I....want to stay."

"What about your parents?", he said, not sure if this could get him in legal trouble.

"They may 'care' in the way parents care, but they would never care about me for who I like."

Antok held his hand, "They don't know you like men?"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore. It's too draining to think about, and I've thought over it enough."

A large hand rubbed his shoulder, "You're perfect just the way you are", his hand moved over his body, "nothing will ever make you any less."

Haxus's breath's grew deeper, the way he touched him, whether intended or not, it made him feel a desire.  

"I want to make love."

Antok stopped for a second, "You sure? You were fairly nervous a bit ago, a little bit right now."

Haxus faced against him and pushed down, taking him into a kiss. Antok instantly held him closer, he enjoyed feeling strong arms against his back. His bulging muscles, rubbing him so well, his own cock rubbed against him. His partner grew as well, his eyes opened wider at the large bump appearing below him.

"You're...big."

"And you're nervous again", he said with a laugh.

Haxus reached an arm down to grab him proper, "I'm ready."

"I don't know if you could take it, being a virgin and all", he tried to warn him.

"I can try", he said, taking his own clothes away. Antok did the same, throwing his shirt to the side and showing off his chest. So large, so amazingly furry, he never knew anyone as large as his other crush could exist. He even blushed at that, but continued to undress, letting his own body be put on display. The tailed galra was the last to be nude, he grew amused by the nervous look that his cock was causing.

Antok touched his bottom-to-be's chest eagerly, "So small, but so strong." If he'd been with a human, they would've described their body type as a "twink". Haxus was a little stronger than what that implied, but he still seemed like he belonged in that category. Still, only touching his body, making him feel appreciated, that was a goal over anything else.

"I'm not very muscular..", he said. While he was fit, and thin, he still wasn't as strong as some of the other's on the team. Even their benchwarmer was stronger, though he rarely had the opportunity to use his strength properly. But Antok didn't care apparently, he continued moving his fingers delicately, never using the clawed ends on him.

"You are an adorable galra, don't doubt that", he said, his tail brushing up on his back.

Haxus had heard of how sex worked for people like him, through jokes or word of mouth. Antok was a big starter, much bigger than himself, which caused a flushed response at the comparison. He started to try sitting down, but nothing could force it in.

"I'm sorry..", he said, already thinking about how he'd messed up.

"I have a lubricant", he said, reaching into a nearby drawer to grab some. He put some on his hand and moved it between Haxus's cheeks.

"I'm gonna move some in, ok?", his fingers were just below his hole.

"Ok.... _nngh_!", he said, feeling someone enter him for the first time. It pained him, it didn't feel like they belonged there, but the fingers lathering him up were so mesmerizing somehow. Antok smiled at his reaction, reassuring him that it wouldn't hurt for long. He tried not to cry, but the sheer pain of two fingers, their claws brushing up against him, he had to release a few tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?", he said, finishing the job and wiping his hand on a towel.

"It hurt a bit more than I expected", he said, his eyes watering more.

"Shhhh, you'll be alright. Do you want to go through with this?", he wasn't sure if his partner had second thoughts, he hoped a light touch to his hand would help.

Haxus wiped his tears away, "I'm part of an arena league, I've felt worse."

"Is that so? I think you'll find yourself sorely..", he pushed himself inside the shouting galra, "..mistaken."

Haxus's eyes couldn't stop the tears, he breathed hard as his teeth pushed tighter and tighter together. God, so big, so painful, it might've been a bad idea to try this with someone like him. Antok noticed and moved up to support him, Haxus's legs moved to either side of him to make space. It felt like hell, it didn't feel good, it felt like too much pressure in him. But...something was there, it was making him feel crazy, crazy for sex, crazy for kissing, just crazy all around.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, you ok?", he asked, rubbing his fingers across his younger partner's eyes.

"Much....worse than I anticipated. Why am I enjoying this?", his cock quickly throbbing against Antok, he never experienced this before. Maybe something similar when he kissed Sendak, but not like this. 

"Try moving, it'll ease the pain. It'll hurt, but you'll settle down", he said, rubbing his sides.

Haxus did so slowly, it still greatly hurt him. It felt enormous, so thick, his ass could hardly stand it inside. Even harder was the fact that he wasn't in all the way, he still had to go deeper. He held his breath and sat farther, he felt some resistance but he persisted. He was nearly there, just a few more forced inches, and there he was. He screamed agonizingly loud, making Antok cover his ears.

"Hurts....it hurts...", he admitted, not able to hide it any longer. The tears came down, and so did his body, as much as that made the pain worse.

Antok tried shifting, "I can-"

"No!", Haxus pushed him down on the bed.

"If you want me to ride you, then I'll ride you", he started moving more, the pain coming in a great deal, but he would persevere. The few more minutes it took to become adjusted felt dragged out, the pain from his member still present. But like Antok said, he was beginning to get used to it. It wasn't as painful as before now, he could ride without further problems. But like anyone else, he had trouble taking in someone as hung as him.

"You're sweating a lot...kinda sexy", Antok said, observing him torture himself on his cock.

Sweat ran around his eyes, "You're tougher than I predicted,", the cock slipped inside better now, "but I can handle you."

"I can see and...mmm...feel it", Haxus was getting into a good rhythm for his dick, his ass felt nice and warm, and not too tight either.

Antok didn't have to do a thing, he could just fondle his rider's body. And his rider could do the same, he didn't mind when he touched his chest. He purred when Haxus started to pet him, moving his hands lovingly across his body. The young one seemed to enjoy muscles, feeling the galra's guns, and fluffing up the fur on his chest with his fingers. His small date reacted very positively to being touched, almost like he wanted to moan.

Haxus couldn't help but let out a small sound, he didn't know why, but he had to. It wasn't out of pain, was it enjoyment? Whatever Antok was doing, whether it was feeling up his chest or stroking his cock, he couldn't bottle up his excitement. He didn't make anymore of it, Antok looked a bit disappointed.

"Why'd you stop?", he said, rubbing his arms.

Haxus spoke between the riding, "Stop...what...pray...tell?"

"Your moan. Haven't you done that before?"

"I'm supposed to?", he asked, stopping while he learned.

Antok smiled, "When you really like the sex, you don't have to hide it. Feel free to make some noise, if you want to."

Haxus got back into the motions, "O-ok. Oh gods, _oh...hmmmmgghh_ ", he enjoyed the expressment, as did his grateful partner. His moans grew in length, and pitch, especially when Antok would rub around his stomach, almost tickling him but never rubbing too much for that.

After enough time, he started to feel strange. Each drop back down onto him only contributed to it, exciting his own cock more. Something was building in him, he didn't know exactly what, and it scared him. The way he expanded, the pleasure outweighing the pain, and how Antok was breathing so much, nothing would make it stop. He moaned more, louder to the room, and looked to him for help. Antok sat up, knowing the familiar sound of someone's incoming climax.

"Antok, I...don't...", he said, continuing his riding despite his confusion.

Antok wrapped his arms around him, "Shhh, you're about to come, and that's just fine."

He shoved them into a kiss, more intense than they had tried, almost biting his lip, and something in his cock started. A sensation, a wonderful feeling, it was absolute ecstasy. His tip shot out load after load of a sticky clear substance onto Antok's stomach, moaning all the while. His date let out a final growled sound of pleasure and held Haxus down, he felt something warm go in his ass. Haxus figured it was the same thing he shot out, just from Antok. Some of it was leaking out, making his inner cheeks a little slick. The both of them were appropriately spent, breath's hard against the other's faces.

"Did I do good?", he asked, staring down at the mess they made.

Antok chuckled and pulled him closer, "Prettyboy, you're amazing." He gave him little kisses on the neck, even licked him, obviously trying to start the second round, but his ass felt nowhere near ready to take that again so soon.

 

  
At his younger mate's request he pulled Haxus off, a small complaint coming from him due to the sudden exit. Antok laughed again, leading him to the bathroom to shower. He was fine with cleaning up, even more comfortable with the incredibly strong galra helping him. He could fall into those arms easily, though he wouldn't test it in a slippery environment. When they were both thoroughly cleansed, he stepped out and realized something.

"I don't have clean clothes", he said, slowly drying himself after the epitome hit.

"Meaning what?", Antok said.

Haxus stepped in the hall for colder air, "Meaning I have to sleep nude."

"And sleeping nude with the guy you just had sex with is a problem?", his larger hook-up tugged at his towel as a tease.

"Don't!", he said, covering his crotch with his hands.

Antok stood in front of him, gently pulling his hands away. Then the towel was removed, and he could see he was getting worked up over nothing. Sure, it wasn't the biggest one, not very long, or thick, but average wasn't bad. He liked it, easier to suck, easier to take in if the both of them decided to reverse their roles. And if he was remembering, it grew much more impressive when aroused, despite what the regular size indicated.

"Do you think I'm a size queen?"

"It's just that...you're so big. Even when you're not in the mood..", he said, looking to the side, his face full of worry.

Antok held him by the waist, "I don't care. You're big enough to give a good time, you don't have to be like me."

"Guys would be tripping over themselves for yours", he was smiling a little now.

Antok lost his towels too, "You'd be surprised how many don't prefer the bigger treatment."

"I like it", he rubbed his ass, "but it did leave some lasting pain."

Antok smacked it as he walked past, "I tend to do that."

Haxus snorted, "Did you really-"

"Yes, I really did. What the hell are you gonna do about it?", he was beginning to flee up the stairs.

Haxus ran up after him, though he didn't see him immediately. It wasn't until he was tackled onto the bed that he found out. It wasn't rough, just a regular hug while they both laughed. Haxus shifted to see his face, kissing them both into giggles, until Antok held him close. He felt ready for some more sex, but right then he preferred to just hold or be held by him.

"I really enjoyed today", he let himself get close enough to take in his larger bedmate's scent. Whatever his natural smell was, he wanted to have it on himself, to be made his.

Antok turned off the lamp, "Goodnight, prettyboy."

"Goodnight", he said, both purring each other to sleep. Up against the fur, it made him feel warm in more than one way. He was content like this, his phone would surely be full of messages and calls from his parents, but he didn't care. All that mattered was being cradled against this galra, for better or for worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, you can leave anything regarding your thoughts in the comments


	9. The discovery (Reupload)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haxus spends a day out with Antok, but will he let his guard down too much?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so I was about to look through this chapter for any grammar errors on my phone, funny thing about accidentally hitting the delete button when you meant to scroll. And they don't even ask if I'm sure that I wanted to delete it, so yeah, reupload.

In the morning he awoke inside a different bed, oh right. The same reason he had a snoring galra's arm above him. He checked his phone, the time was almost past lunch. More importantly, his parents were definitely pissed. A few angry messages, in the vein of 'where are you?', simply put. One's from his mother were tolerable, though his fathers messages would stay as a mail icon. His tapping had evidently stirred Antok, who moved his arm closer around him.

*Yawn* "Good morning to you, prettyboy."

He set his phone down on the side table, "I don't want to go to school today."

Antok turned him around, "Don't you know playing hookie is bad?"

"A punishment then. How about a kiss with morning breath?", he leaned in for a quick kiss, remembering how Antok did it the previous day.

"Agreed", he gave him a quick smootch, like Haxus predicted, it tasted bad.

Haxus's face scrunched up a little, "Maybe it really was a punishment."

"Does it bother you when I breeeeaaaaaathe", he was blowing out air with the last word.

He covered his nose and laughed, "Oh, fuck off."

"You know, going out on a date wouldn't be bad."

Haxus scoffed, "Sure. And I'll be wearing clean clothes how?"

"I have old clothes, back from when I didn't work out. You can try those on, if you like."

He sat up and scratched his head, "Fine.....where are they?"

"Closet in the hall, should be a few boxes with them."

He was out of the bed and nearly out of the room before he heard a "Wait." He turned his head to see what he wanted.

"Your butt is cute", he said with a wink.

"Yours too", he winked back before heading downstairs.

So, just a door in the closet for his clothes. He soon saw the box he was talking about, opening it up to see an assortment of material, though not neatly put together. He breathed through his nose as he sifted, finding a pair of underwear, a shirt, and some skinny pants. Whatever else he saw was just left-overs, it didn't matter. They slipped on a little too well, as though Antok used to be the same size as him. His shirt was a little long, the pants too, probably from the man being slightly taller than him. They were comfortable too, the underwear didn't constrict him, nor did the pants. His shirt was just long enough to go a little below his pockets, just the way he liked it.

"I like it when you wear small clothes", a voice said, grabbing him around the waist.

"You're not nude still, right?", he said, grabbing the big hand feeling his stomach.

Antok made a small laugh, "I dunno, reach around and find out."

Reaching behind him, he found him wearing a shirt. That was all he cared to search for, he wasn't in the mood for anything.

"Not looking for the goods?", he sounded letdown.

Haxus untangled the hands around him, "I'm hungry. And after we did that we had to shower. Later tonight maybe, I could try something new."

"Such as?"

He spun around and embraced him, "I've heard of using a mouth for...certain...actions. That, or you could...take over with the...anal?

"That sounds delightful", he moved to kiss him, which he was happy to do. That is, until he tasted him and found he still hadn't brushed his mouth clean.

"Clean your mouth, I'll make myself breakfast."

He smiled while Antok went to the bathroom. As far as he knew, he liked him, and Antok probably liked him back. That didn't mean he would outright say it, but it made him happy to think on it. His kitchen was standard, not too big or small, enough for basic needs. He wouldn't do an overly complicated breakfast, a bowl of cereal would do.

' _For a guy like him, he certainly has a lot of sweet brands_ ', he thought while looking through the boxes. He didn't hate it, but a small disappointed glance at the lack of a grain cereal stilll showed itself.

"Don't like that kind?"

"Unhealthy for my figure, being sugary and all,", he took a spoon and tasted it, " but very good on the plus-side."

"It's for when I have guests, such as you. I don't normally eat it."

"Really? More for me then", he poured a little more in with the milk.

Antok grabbed a bowl, "Well don't eat it all."

"This was your smallest bowl, and even then it's not what I call 'small'. How much do you eat?"

"Well to get this,", he flexed his arm for a second, "you gotta eat a lot."

Haxus closed his eyes and chuckled to himself, "Whatever you say."

 

  
The two of them enjoyed their meal, despite Haxus's teasing. There was no way Antok would get fat from one bowl, but that didn't stop the joking. He didn't mind, he knew he wasn't serious with him. And he even joked around with him, asking how he wouldn't get fat from eating it. After they were done they went to see the town together.

"So, what is your job?"

Antok played around with his hands, "A little bit of casual law enforcement. A cop, you would say, or I could say, if I wasn't a smartass."

He raised an eyebrow, "An officer of the law, going around with a minor? A little dirty."

"You ain't a minor once you're eighteen. Cradle-snatcher, sure, you can say that, but pedophile? I don't do that. Besides, you're already a year or more past the legal consent, not like I watched you like a predator until the day you were ok to date."

Haxus smiled, "I'm glad to be doing this, I really needed a release from my other life."

"Other life?"

Haxus laughed and started to explain, "Yeah..I'm on an arena league. On a team of people that I'm apparently a leader of. And..", he remembered everything else, "..they would hate to see me out with you. Those types..do you understand?", he looked to Antok with a sad frown.

"Why do you stay around them?", he set a hand on his shoulder, making him pause his walk.

"They're all I have, the only friends that would have me. And being in the arena is all I'm good for at that place. That, and I wouldn't hear the end of it from my parents if I quit now."

"You do know you can cut them out of your life, right?", he was surprised Haxus hadn't done that already.

Haxus let out a weak laugh, "Funny, someone said something similar to me once. And I only pushed him away.."

"Look, being put to a standard is hard, I get that. I used to think I was supposed to be there for everyone, that I needed to do anything they asked or would approve of. But then I realized, they weren't going to change just because I was. It's difficult, and it can feel painful, but letting others go is unfortunately necessary sometimes."

His date smiled at the support, "Thanks. I don't know when I could, or where I would go."

"I'm sure you'll figure something out", he rubbed his back before they went walking again.

 

  
Their second date proved to be fruitful, they connected somehow. Antok took him to a place where they did something called 'bowling', a business set up by human immigrants. A strange game, rolling a heavy sphere down a small path, to knock down white pins. Even harder to master, he had to ask for assistance rails. Antok teased him for that, even if he wasn't exactly racking up the points himself.

"Piece of advice, don't get it into the sides", he successfully annoyed his date, only as a friendly tease.

Well, Haxus would show him. Carefully, he lined up the circle thing, not exactly what he would call a ball since it couldn't bounce, and he let it go down the aisle. Down the center it went, miraculously hitting them all down, his first strike.

"My advice, don't be cocky", he said to his surprised date.

Their little game had to end soon, but Haxus somehow got more points than the galra who'd been going there regularly. To celebrate his win, he decided to take him to the cafe where they'd technically met, in a sense. He ordered a couple of coffee's for the two, he wanted to see his reaction to the bitter taste. And a good reaction it was, he giggled while Antok swallowed it down with a grimacing frown.

"You only took me here to do that, didn't you?", he said, drinking some water that Haxus said he would need afterwards.

"Maybe. Well worth the money, I'd say. Now it's my turn", he took his own cup and drank some down, a forced smile as the sweetless substance went down his throat. Antok laughed at that, now seeing the appeal in drinking it with him.

Antok set his cup down, "You know, I liked this more the second time around. I think I would want to spend some more time with you."

"You want to...date me? Of all the other men available, you pick the small one."

His date smiled more, "That's part of your charm. Maybe it was your way of pushing forward, I like that, and I'd like to see more of it."

"I could keep spending time with you too."

Haxus was happy, despite the depression he had with him. He set his drink down and held the other hand on the table, wanting to feel the welcome in it again. They could just enjoy that moment, understanding each other, liking even. At that moment, away from his pressures, he found his own peace with life.

"Haxus?"

He turned to see who said his name and frowned in realization. A former friend from school, someone he used to know better. He was looking at the pair curiously, maybe he didn't know if he really saw Haxus holding hands with another man. But he was, and soon others would be seeing it too. The phone snapped quicker than he could stop it, capturing the incriminating hold, and the teenager's frightened face.

"So, Sendak's bully skipped school to see his boyfriend..", he said, uploading it for anyone to see.

No, this couldn't be happening, it shouldn't have happened. How did he not see anyone else he knew? He started to breath quickly, his social life crumbling right next to him without any way to prevent it.

"Bully? What is he talking about?", Antok said, now frowning at the news.

And now he wouldn't be dating him, because now he knew. He knew he was an ass to someone else, and he wouldn't be able to see past that. He took his hand away, not deserving the warmth of Antok's touch.

"I have to go..", Haxus said, his voice breaking, standing up amidst tears forming.

Antok tried holding his hand again, "Hey, you don't have to-"

Haxus snatched his hand back, "I have to go."

With a shame filled self, he walked out and didn't look back. And then he ran, he ran as fast as he could. Everything was ruined, every little part of his day was soiled. And not just his date, his life too. What would his parents do, his father especially? He didn't even want to think about school, how he was going to stick out now. His place on the team was as good as gone, none of them would want to work with him anymore. 

All because he reached out to someone.

  
Antok was left back at the cafe, one drink for him, another for a now absent date. The galra that knew Haxus that was still there, the one who'd snapped a picture without permission. If what he said about Haxus was true, then he would have a talk with him. But right now he needed to set the amatuer photographer straight.

"You, delete the picture."

"Why?", the kid looked annoyed.

"Because you did it without his consent, and as an officer of the law,", he pulled out his badge, "I'm here to prevent the law being broken."

"Well it's already on Gal-chat now, sooooooooo, I'll just go", he turned towards the doors.

Antok grabbed his shoulder with the other hand on some cuffs, "No, you don't go. Take it off your phone, the original one. You can either do that, or I can arrest you and use it as evidence against you. Do you really want to spend the night in jail over a photo?"

The kid growled a complaint, "Fine." He did a few taps on the phone, before looking back to him. "Happy now?"

"Yeah, now get out of here."

The kid glared at him, "You're a shitty cop. By the way, your little boyfriend is an asshole, just so you know."

He pointed him to the door, "Get the fuck out before I arrest you, brat."

The teen gave a rude gesture while he left, a few others were watching Antok, murmuring as if he didn't see them.

"Show's over, you can get back to your drinks."

He left the cafe with worried thoughts on Haxus. The poor kid hadn't even come out, and now he was being forced by a different hand to do so. Even if he wasn't being kind to someone else, that didn't justify revealing something like that en masse. He could only speculate as to what his runaway date was going through.

 

  
Haxus tried his door, but it wouldn't open. He forgot to tell his parents he was coming, too caught up in everything else to send them a message. Luckily someone answered it, his mother fortunately. She gasped when she recognized who it was, taking him in a tight hug. He let her do that for a few more seconds before forcefully getting himself free.

"Haxus, where were you?", she said, walking behind him.

"I was out", he said.

Her voice grew angry, a rarity for her, "You mean staying out for an entire night? Skipping school and making them call us?"

"Yes", he was about to open his door before he felt his mother tug at his clothes.

"Where did you get these? I don't remember buying these for you..", she tried to look around in her mind, maybe an instance where she'd bought it but he wasn't wearing it often.

"I don't care!", he ripped his shirt away, shocking her.

"Don't you DARE raise your voice at me! I was up all night wondering where you were, waiting for you to come home, and this is how you treat me?! You can go to your room, NOW!!", she said, pointing at the door.

He roughly turned the knob and then slammed it on her. Then he locked it on her, preventing her from opening it to yell at him more.

"You're locking me out? Go ahead, stay there! But don't even think about trying to skip again tomorrow, I will personally drive you and I don't care if you don't want your friends seeing me do that!"

His father strangely didn't come to pound at his door afterwards. At work most likely, evidently not caring enough to wait at home for his only child. But that wasn't important, nothing was. His life was already becoming hell, now he would have to face his demons at school. His phone kept buzzing with notifications, probably from the photo. He cried as he laid in the bed, hoping for the gods to take his life right then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, right, I'm terrible to him, and also I'll be posting another chapter today to make up for the reuploading and shit like that. Sorry again.


	10. The fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sendak and Shiro start to get caught in the rippling effects of Haxus's photo, while Haxus deals with a hard consequence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, early chapter update, woooooo. I might not try to look at things I need to edit on my phone ever again, accidentally deleting a chapter is annoying. But anyways, apology for it here.

Sendak and Shiro weren't just each other's date for the dance, now they were walking together in the halls. Purely as friends of course, nothing was official. Though that didn't stop the unofficial speculation from everyone else. It was a peculiar sight to them, not a month ago did Shiro hate him. And now he was treating him like he would his other friends.

Sendak was in the middle of talking with him, "Yeah, I don't know what I'll wear, it'll be-"

"Guys, you're not gonna believe this. Haxus is gay!", Ayka said as she stopped them.

"Who?", said Shiro, he didn't know many galra around besides the one's he sat with.

"A guy I used to be friends with. Ayka, who told you?", Sendak said, wondering why she was spreading it around.

"Not a matter of who, a matter of this", she pulled up the photo on Gal-chat, showing the both of them. Haxus had indeed been caught with another man, holding hands no less. But he didn't care about that, he cared about the look on Haxus's face. The poor guy obviously didn't want that photo spread around.

"Honestly Ayka? I'm disappointed that you would care about something that someone didn't want released in the first place."

She smiled and glared slightly, "I'm sorry, was I the one who took the photo?"

"You're the one showing it around", he was glaring right back at her.

"I would think you cared because he's constantly being a dick to you, but I guess not."

He pointed a finger at the phone, "First of all, that won't solve any problems. Second of all, I already knew he was gay. But unlike you, I'm not showing him off like that. That's because, you guessed it, most of the people here don't want any gays near them."

She smacked the finger away, "Don't point at me like that, I was trying to do a favor to you! He has no right to rag on you while he's the very thing he talks shit about. Shiro, what do you think?"

He sighed, "I'm inclined to agree with him. I don't care what anyone's reason is, Haxus didn't need to be thrown from his closet. And seeing it spreading it around, you helping that even, I expected better of you."

"I didn't take the photo! Do I need to repeat myself?", her cover was faltering along with her expression.

"Enough excuses! No, you didn't pull out your phone and take it, but evidently you're more than happy with showing us anyway. Ayka, do you know what it's like to be gay? Do you know how many times I've had people here say nasty things to me? I'm sure they still would if it wasn't for what happened a few months ago."

She tried to find a good response, "But...they're not now. They accept you."

He held a hand up to his forehead for a moment, "No, Ayka. They feel sorry for me. I don't think they wanted me here before, now they're just playing nice because of everything I went through. If they can't push me around for it, then they're gonna do it to him."

"I...didn't think about that. I'm sorry, I won't-"

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to Haxus. Try not to ask him about it, he doesn't need that. I'll see you at lunch", he turned to walk to his next class.

"...Ok", she said, also going to her classes.

Sendak looked at a holo-clock on the wall, "Damn, free-time's up. See you after class."

Shiro walked in his class to find a strange sight, everyone kept looking at a student in the corner. An average height for a galra, though humans would consider him tall. He looked deflated, devoid of any happiness. If he was right, that was the one everyone was talking about. He decided to take a desk next to him, everyone else wasn't so eager to be close. He didn't need to speak directly, just write him a small note.

'Haxus, I'm sorry these people did this. You have support :)'

He passed it over to him, though he didn't immediately take it. When he realized Shiro wasn't giving up, he snatched it to read. He didn't smile, in fact he sunk deeper in his desk. Not what he was trying to make him do, unfortunately.

"I'm sorry", he whispered.

He continued to ignore him, in favor of secluded sadness. Everyone else whispered to themselves, Haxus brought up his jacket to hide the noise.

The teacher closed the door to address them, "All right everyone, before we begin class today, I know there are certain rumors going around. But we-"

"Do you know what they're saying?", one of them blurted out.

She leaned against the board, "No, do tell."

"See, Haxus-"

"Don't care. But I do care about you and the rest of you not having your notebooks out. Shiro, thanks for setting an example for them, I see you pay attention to me at least."

He smiled to her, and she began the class. A fairly standard lesson for them, but Haxus wasn't doing anything. He was as still as a statue, though the breathing gave him away as a living being. It wasn't until the dismissal bell rang that he actually moved. Shiro wanted to talk to him personally, it would be better than what a note could convey.

"Haxus, wait up a second."

The galra stopped to look at him, though he remained silent.

"I don't agree with any of what they're doing. That was personal to you, nothing could justify someone leaking it out for everyone else."

 

  
Haxus frowned and angrily walked off, not caring if he bumped into anyone along the way. Like he predicted, everyone knew, and now he was sticking out. The only thing that was strange was his missing teammates, he hadn't seen them at all. He just needed to ride out the rest of the day and hope for the better. His classes went on forever, he wasn't invested in anything. Time wouldn't be doing him any favors, just like the rest of the school. Eventually the lunch bell came, and his teacher let the rest of the class go, Haxus staying behind for a minute. He didn't need to walk with them, he didn't want to answer questions about being gay, or anything otherwise. He just wanted to eat and go about the rest of his day in seclusion. He walked down the hall, alone to himself, the way he wanted. That is, until a pair of arms grabbed him.

"You're coming with us, faggot."

Haxus recognized it as his teammates. Of course he was stupid enough to let himself be alone, they were waiting for that. And now he would pay the price, though not in the school. They were dragging him to where fights usually took place, out in the practice arena. It wasn't a very big one, and a real arena would have taller walls, but it functioned just the same. They threw him down hard, he didn't have a chance to stop the pain.

"About that photo, what the fuck happened man?", he kicked the galra that was still getting up, making him cry out.

Haxus tried speaking, "I...didn't mean to-"

"You didn't mean to what? Be like him? FUCK YOU!", he kicked him in his ribs, Haxus almost couldn't breathe for a second, then the pain came again.

"Forget about sitting with us, faggot", the one who said it spit on him to add insult to injury.

"We don't want you as our captain", another one said, kicking him where he'd already been bruised.

"We especially don't want you here", another said, stomping on his foot, Haxus could feel something break, and he screamed through grit teeth.

"Put him on the wall, time for a makeover", one of them ordered.

He couldn't stop them, try as he might. He struggled to break free, glaring at them. Then something hit his face, his vision went black for a second. He blinked to see a blurry vision of a galra shaking his hand, then bringing the hook right back. Another burst of pain, he could feel his nose breaking, the blood poured like a waterfall from it. He could barely see anything, he closed his eyes as the punches came. In his gut, to his chest, to the arms, anywhere that wasn't hurting suddenly felt as if it would collapse. Interspersed through that was the occasional 'fucking faggot' or the like.

"Alright, that's enough of that."

He recognized it as Myzax, though he doubted he was doing it as a rescue. He opened his eyes to see him carrying a knife, not just a small one. The others stood away from Haxus, though they were cautious of the one with a sharp weapon too.

"What the fuck are you doing?", one of them said.

"He needs a tattoo, don't you think?", he said, grabbing Haxus by the neck.

One of them tried taking the knife, "We were gonna rough him up, that's it. Why the hell did you-"

"Are you gonna stop me?", he said, glaring at the much smaller galra.

"We didn't agree to cutting him up, what the fuck man?"

Myzax took his grip off Haxus and grabbed the other galra. He decided to throw him across the pit, that had to break a few bones. After a sickening sound of hitting the wall, followed by the ground, a few of the other's went to check on him. Some of them realized that he wasn't putting his knife away, they ran to get help. One of them brought their phone out to call the police.

Haxus had since slipped to the side, trying to limp anywhere. He wasn't moving very fast, but perhaps it was enough to get away. He'd been beaten too much, too hurt to even try fighting back. The pit exit was out of the question, too far away to make it. But maybe with the distraction, the others trying to get Myzax to drop the knife, he could just hide himself behind one of the pillars. Soon he didn't hear any of them, watching some run away, cowards. And then he heard a large thumping, the ground shook as he tried to keep quiet.

"Where did you run off to, freak?", he heard, close to him, much too close for his comfort. He tried moving away, then hearing the sound go to the direction he was moving in, so he moved back to his original spot.

"Got you!....Damn", he heard him say, daring himself enough to look at him walking off. With that done, he could wait until he was far enough to limp to an exit. Now Myzax was across the arena, he could make it in time. He went as fast as he could, his foot broke more in the process, he couldn't help but scream. He turned around, Myzax had heard him, and now he was charging towards him. So close, he could just reach the caged door handle...

"You're not getting away!", Myzax said, slamming him down with excruciating force. His ribs were surely broken, not that it mattered, he was about to get something even worse.

"Let's start with your arm", he said, pinning him with only a leg, slamming his head if he tried to resist. His torturer wasn't just cutting in him, it was precise, he really was giving him some sick version of a tattoo.

 

  
Sendak was enjoying lunch with his friends, everything seemed normal. Though he hadn't seen Haxus around, he figured he was just eating somewhere alone. Too embarrassed to even sit by himself, he understood his state of mind all too well. It wasn't until an exhausted jock ran up to him that he learned the truth.

"Myzax is going crazy!!", he yelled, shaking him as he ate.

"What the hell are you talking about?", he said before he choked on his food goo.

"He's got a fucking knife, and he's got Haxus pinned!", everyone was paying attention to the sudden commotion.

He got angry and held him up by the neck, "What did you fuckers do to him?!"

"A-arena", he said, struggling to breathe.

"Get a sentry, I'll deal with it otherwise!", he dropped him and ran to the nearest door. The rest of the cafeteria followed suit, Shiro and his friends especially concerned.

 

  
Haxus heard his assaulter laughing as he cut into him, he had given up on screaming. That didn't stop the pain from coming, nor did it stop the blood from draining. He felt weaker, he tried moving his arms but they barely responded. He could still see what was happening, though the tears obscured his vision. To his shock he saw Myzax getting tackled..by Sendak?

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!", he shouted, trying to grab for the knife.

A sentry shot a taser at Myzax, briefly electrocuting him, "Student: Myzax, you are in violation of-", it was smashed against the wall by his body. It sparked a few times, twitching for a second, then deactivated.

"You wanna get carved up too? Another freak to mark then!", he swiped at him, though he barely grazed his fur. Sendak responded with a kick to his back, knocking the breath out of him.

"You bring a knife rather than your fists? Are you that shitty of a fighter that you need to use something besides yourself?", he hoped the taunt would make him charge.

"FUCK YOU!", he screamed, running towards him. Sendak anticipated that and timed a dodge, letting him run into a wall. That probably wouldn't work again, but anything to get him away from Haxus.

"Sendak, fuck him up!", a voice called from outside the pit. He saw a crowd watching them, in a sense he was back to his sports, though not the way he would've liked.

' _Will do_ ', he thought as he prepared his next move. This was an arena, and he didn't have a shield. Shit. He was dodging before, but clever sidesteps only went so far. He did have his enhanced arm, but Myzax wouldn't be hurt much by it. The only other thing available was a taser from the sentry, he grabbed it before the angry galra could do anything else. He warily watched him, waiting for his next move, the both of them knowing exactly how capable the other was.

"Stab me already, bastard!"

Myzax took the bait, swiping again while Sendak rolled away. He was quick enough to shock him, though it still didn't do much. He started a pattern, dragging it out as long as he needed to. Each time he got a hit on him the crowd cheered, though he wondered if his friends were worried. Everytime the taser connected, Myzax grew angrier and even more unpredictable, much to Sendak's disadvantage. To the side he saw paramedics carry Haxus and another galra as quickly as they could, at least they could get medical help. That distraction proved a mistake, he felt a fist connect with him.

"You ready to lose another arm?", Myzax said, pushing the dazed galra against a wall. Sendak tried using his cybernetic limb, but it was pinned by a knee.

To the sidelines, Shiro panicked. If he didn't do something, Sendak was going to get seriously injured. He dropped his bags and clambered over the wall, his friends shouted for him to stop. The rest of the crowd watched him run up to the weapon-wielding galra. Myzax was ready to kill, just about to thrust down.

"DON'T HURT HIM!!", he screamed, trying to pull Myzax off.

"I already told you, don't stop me!", Myzax turned and swung his knife down, hoping to give a small cut to his teammate. But it wasn't one of them, it was the human transfer. Neither him nor his enemy said anything, too shocked that Shiro would intervene.

 

  
The crowd gasped at the sight, Shiro's arm was instantly cut away. It fell so quickly, barely making a sound when it dropped, dripping blood at the cutting point. The blood poured from his shoulder, he staggered around, trying to stand up straight. It didn't matter, he fell to the ground after a few more seconds, not able to do anything besides breathing. He felt pain, but more than anything he felt like he was going to die. More paramedics were running towards him, but they looked different, blurry. His world went black as he heard shouts, the end was nigh.

"YOU PIECE OF SHIT!", Sendak tackled Myzax to the ground and grabbed the knife away. Someone hurting Shiro, the one who didn't deserve anything, made him snap. His cybernetic arm snapped the bone of his opponents arm, making him scream. He didn't care, he moved onto the other one, snapping it too. Then he held the knife up to his throat as he punched him, over and over. If he was smart, he would keep his head down. Sendak kept punching, until he grew tired of it. Exhausted, he fell to the side and heard a cheer from the crowd, he had won. He smiled at the better outcome, feeling at his damaged eye. But it wasn't his regular one, Myzax had broken his replacement.

' _Wait...where's Shiro?_ ', he thought, looking over at the blood staining the ground.

Shiro was gone, and so was the arm Myzax had cut off. Suddenly he had medical responders pulling him up and out of the arena. He was laid into an ambulance, though Shiro wasn't in there with him. He grew restless, demanding to see him while they tried to calm him down.

"Where's Shiro?", he asked, getting restrained by them.

"He's where you're going, just calm down", one of them said.

"WHY ISN'T HE HERE?!", he was panicking, he needed to make sure the human was alright.

"Grab a tranquilizer!", one of them said, trying to keep him down.

Sendak struggled to break free, he felt something sharp go in his arm. Bastards were trying to get him unconscious, they didn't even let him ride with Shiro, he could kill them. But he was struggling, something made him want to just black out. His movement slowed, they put some restraints on his body. Then he closed his eyes, the world went dark as he ceased his resistance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :'( I feel bad writing it like that, but it'll all be better soon, I promise.


	11. The hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sendak wakes up in the hospital, deciding that meeting the other two hurt by the fight is the best course of action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late on this update, sorry, but here it is.

Sendak awoke in a hospital bed, a newly restored vision to his blinking light of a red eye. His parents were sitting to the right of him, both asleep. The clock read for a late time, almost midnight, no wonder they were tired. If he was in the hospital, then maybe it was the same one Shiro was sent to. As he sat up, he felt his hospital gown stretch, a little small for his size. Even more uncomfortable was his nude body, he wondered who saw his...thing..for a second, not thinking on it too long.

"Mom? Dad?", he said, poking them with his hand. They both awoke, immediately smiling and hugging him, their only son, their only child, now safe in their arms.

"Oh honey, you're alright", she said through her tears.

"You don't have to cry mom, it was just my eye", he put an arm around her back.

"You're ok, that's all we wanted", his father said, hugging the both of them.

He smiled while they held him, but he had more serious concerns over the human who risked losing an arm for him.

"Where's Shiro?"

The both of them sat back down, "Honey, his injury was very severe. I'm not sure if they're letting him receive any guests, besides his family."

"Of course it was severe, that bastard cut his arm off. But they got it back on, right?", the silence between the three said the worst of his fears. His parents both looked nervously between each other before breaking the news.

"In a way, yes. They couldn't save his normal one, so they had to replace it with one like yours", she didn't like the way his face changed as she explained.

"Like..mine?", his ears drooped, dismayed that it had been that bad.

"Not exactly like yours. His is designed to look human, smaller and grey. They haven't done any tests for movement yet, he just went through the surgery seven hours ago. But it did meld successfully, no rejections yet."

He started to get out of his bed, "I want to see him."

His mother tried slowing him down, "Hold on, you were like this for a few days. You can't just-", Sendak quickly moved up to disprove her theory. Or maybe prove it, his legs did feel a little unused.

"I'm going to see him. Give me some pants. Unless you want me walking with my butt sticking out for everyone else to see, I suggest you let me wear some."

"Honey, at least shower if you're going to wear some new clothes", she didn't want him smelling bad for his reunion.

He slipped on the underwear and pants while he talked, "I don't care how I smell, bad I know. But right now I need to go see him."

 

  
He shuffled out of the room, his parents walking behind him for support. He went a little wobbly as they walked, but he considered a trip to Shiro's room a good way to stretch his muscles. When he asked a nurse where Shiro was, he told him that he would have to wait. After a few minutes of slightly tense negotiation, he gave the family his room number. Sendak walked as fast as he could to the elevator, having to go up two more floors to see the one he'd gotten mixed into this.

"Where is it..", he muttered, looking to the digital signs for room numbers.

Spotting rooms '501-510' on the sign, he made his way down the hall. He went past nearly all the rooms until he reached the very last one, '510'. He knocked at the door to see him, though no one immediately answered. Another knock caused a sleepy human woman to answer the door, Shiro's mother.

"Who is knocking so late...Sendak?", she rubbed her eyes to make sure it was the right galra.

"Can I see Shiro?", he put on his kindest smile, not too much, not too little, just enough to convince the woman who didn't like him. She stepped away from the door for a second, before returning a moment later.

"He's awake now, so you may. But please don't visit late again, he needs his rest."

She slowly opened the door to let them inside, Sendak entering first. The human's galran father, or stepfather (he didn't know), turned on a lamp nearby. The next person he saw was Shiro, yawning as his greeting, his face looked broken, somehow. Nothing was physically wrong with it, but there was a sense of defeat on his smile. His replaced arm probably had something to do with that, he couldn't even move it yet. Or maybe he just didn't want to have his mother spend thousands of GAC's on the medical treatment.

"Hey, Shiro. You feeling better?", he stood next to the bed.

Shiro looked over to his arm, "In the sense that I can't and won't ever feel pain in my right arm again, yes."

"That's pretty good lookin' tech, there. Better than mine, I'd say", his mechanical eye zoomed in on the label, 'Gal-tech', the same company who made his own arm.

Shiro smiled for a moment, but then he frowned at the metal, unfamiliar to him, not his normal skin.

"They didn't sew it back..", tears were forming in his eyes.

"That doesn't mean they didn't try, right?", he thought Shiro would be happier.

"Yeah, they tried real hard not to use it", he glared at the arm now, trying to move it to no real effect. The only thing he could shake was his shoulder, the arm staying still since the movement was locked by the doctors.

His mother went to stop him, "Honey, you can't move it yet. Not without a doctor."

He didn't raise his voice, but a cold anger left his throat instead.

"Fuck...the doctors...I don't care what those quacks think."

His mother forced him to look at her, "You know that they offered their best treatment, and you'll be able to move that arm much easier than if they put the old one back on." 

He had heard that from his mother a dozen times since the operation took place. Quite frankly, he'd gotten sick of hearing it, like his own opinion didn't matter.

"I could've tried using it, and it would be better to have that bill rather than the one we're getting for this thing."

"Well I think it's handsome on you", his galran friend said. The human stopped his fussing, forming a slow smile, then quietly laughing for a few seconds before he faced the optimistic galra.

"Of course you wouldn't mind it. Anything that I have is 'handsome' or 'nice' or whatever else you decide to name it."

Sendak moved his advanced arm over to Shiro's, a small electric shock sparked at the lightest touch.

"It's not easy, is it? You just lost your arm, and you feel like your world is ending. You don't even want the new one, but there it is. Despite what they said and did, you still would've preferred to have the old one back, the one you really know. How could you feel someone, gather heat with it, make it numb in the cold? You probably imagine that this one couldn't come close to doing the same job." 

He took the successor's hand with his own, "I didn't like mine at first, but then I noticed how much of an advantage in the arena it gave me. A lot of girls liked it, said battle scars are cute on men. I would think the same applies to you, for whoever decides to talk about your arm. Maybe a part of you calls it ugly, but it's not. It's design looks like your original, and that makes it uniquely 'you'. And you're the best person that ever came into our lives."

Shiro started to cry again, moved by his support, his understanding. He motioned him over for a hug, Sendak was careful not to cause him any pain. He could've sworn Shiro grabbed the fur sticking out from his back, but he wouldn't ask now. The human's hair smelled wonderful, he hadn't meant to sniff it, but it had been so close to his nose. He couldn't nearly smother a recovering patient forever, eventually he had to give him some space.

"I'm glad you're feeling better. You're really brave Shiro, sticking yourself out for someone else the way you did. I'll let you rest now, gods know you need it", he squeezed his hand softly as a goodnight, leaving with his parents to go back to his own room.

 

 

He might've gone to visit Haxus right then, but he remembered what Shiro's mother had to say about late night visits. Even if she hadn't meant it for him, it still applied as general advice. He didn't get much sleep that night, too restless to even stay in his room for very long. While his parents slept, he showered and dressed into proper clothes to explore the hospital. The magazines were dreadfully boring, but they were all he had to pass time. When the morning did come, he went down to the cafeteria to get breakfast for himself, and one other very important patient: Haxus. Shiro was important too, but he would still be resting by that point. A bit of meat never hurt anyone, so long as it was consumed in healthy proportions. A nurse was kind enough to tell him that particular patient's room number too, and to his luck it was on the same floor.

*Knock, knock, knock* "Special delivery."

An angry mother opened the door, "It's too early to be- Oh, hello! Are you here to visit him?"

"Well I did bring food for the both of us."

"But not for me", her tone shifted to annoyance for a moment, "Oh, I'm just teasing. Get in here, it'll be good for him to see a friend."

' _Friend. I'm not even sure if any other so-called "friend" came to visit_ ', he thought as he got closer to him. And he didn't think anyone could top Shiro's misery. To his misfortune he was wrong. Haxus was frowning, his face mostly healed, but he was broken much deeper than that. He and his mother were the only two there, his father was absent. All the better, considering what he heard about how he usually treated his son. Sendak set the tray down next to his table, handing a plate of carefully selected food to him.

"Specially made, 5-star hospital menu."

Haxus closed his eyes and kept his frown, "Mom, I want to talk to him. Alone."

"Whatever you need, I'll be right outside", she gave him a kiss on the forehead before leaving. Haxus dug into his plate eagerly, like he hadn't eaten in days. Shit, had he eaten in days?

"You're getting fed, right?", he couldn't help but wonder if his starvation was intentional.

Haxus talked as he chewed his toast, "Of course. Fed a bunch of 'morality' shit with a serving of a small bowl of cereal." He took a bite out of some meat, "Just enough to get me by, but 'the thing I deserve for keeping a secret relationship'." He drank most of his juice before remembering there wasn't much left, "I hadn't even officially dated him for even a minute when the rest of them found out, so they can stuff that 'secret lover' crap back up their asses."

"Did you mean to keep him a secret?", he wasn't eating much of his own food, wondering if Haxus needed it more.

"Maybe, maybe not. He was the first galra to make me feel truly happy in a long time. But I doubt he would want to see me again, not after what he heard..", some tears ran down his battered face, though he didn't wipe them away for fear of causing himself pain.

"Have you tried talking to him?", he asked.

Haxus looked out the window to his right, "Hard to try when you're not allowed a phone anymore."

Hearing that his parent's kept punishing him when he obviously didn't need it irritated Sendak further than he previously thought possible.

"Now that's just too controlling, even if she thinks it's for the best."

Haxus chuckled, though he stopped due to the pain in his jaw, "Preaching to the masses. Even if I got it back, she would hover over me. I wouldn't be able to talk to anyone unless they were an approved friend."

"Approved?", how controlling was she being to him?

Haxus glared at the ceiling, "Oh, didn't I tell you? She said anyone I meet I have to tell them about now. I can't just make new one's at school, they might be a bad influence according to her. She's trying to make me more alone than I thought she was capable of."

"Why don't you just leave? You're old enough that they can't keep you against your will."

Haxus let out a disgusted noise, "Do you think I'm staying with them because I want to? Where would I go? Hmm? I have no one willing to accommodate me. Sure, everyone at school feels sorry enough to send me those _things_ ", he pointed to some flowers in the corner, "but I doubt they'll want a faggot in their house."

"Don't call yourself that."

"Why not? That's all I am, according to almost everyone I meet. So many asked me if I was when I got back, the team yelled it at me when they brutalized me. Myzax, he fucking- He cut it into me."

"He what?", he was appalled to think that the bastard had the nerve to permanently humiliate someone.

He held out his arm, "Look for yourself, stitches spell it plain as day. You should've seen the way they reacted when I explained, the staff had to drag my father out of the room for berating me when I was already stressed. That doesn't mean my mother minds picking up his job, however kinder she dresses up the hate as."

Sendak leaned on the side of his bed, "You can stay with us. My family wouldn't mind letting you stay over."

He finished the last of his juice before speaking, "No, Sendak. I already have bad blood with you for too many reasons, some you already know. You still don't return those feelings, I assume."

Sendak sighed and stared in his hands, "No."

"You probably love him then, don't let him slip away like that. Go, I can handle this by myself. Thanks for coming to see me."

He gave him a hug before leaving, extra careful with him due to his multiple injuries. Since he was dressed and ready to go, he decided to check out as a patient. They didn't leave the hospital right as he was ready, he wanted to see Shiro again. Unfortunately he wasn't able to, the nurses explained that he would be getting adjusted to his new arm for at least a few days. Not even his immediate family could be there, to his surprise. Even if that left him feeling a little gloomy, Shiro getting better brightened his outlook.

Maybe instead of trying to bring Shiro out, he could bring something in for Shiro...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have a bit more focus on Haxus, so don't worry about him getting the shit end of a story. And I might be a bit rough on handling how someone deals with losing their arm, so if this is inaccurate please tell me.


	12. The escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haxus gets out of recovery, but decides to take matters into his own hands, for better or worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having just a bit of trouble trying to think of how to write the ending to this story, but I have everything else mostly planned out. But in case it doesn't quite work out, you might get delays on certain chapters. Not in any for the next few, just the final ones.

Haxus had been released from the hospital, the medical technology advanced enough to heal him within a week. His parents seemed ashamed of him now, like he was a freak to them and the world. They even carried that with them when they went inside his school to sort out exactly what happened. Hearing it from the team was one thing, but getting an account of the arena incident from a direct victim was better.

"Haxus, do you know why they did that to you?", the principal said.

"It's probably a fairly open thing now, but someone got a photo of me holding hands with another man."

He wrote down on a pad of paper while muttering "homophobia" before turning back to him with another question.

"Do you know what happened?"

Haxus didn't like to recall it, but he knew that the rest of them probably covered their own asses somehow.

"They dragged me out of the hallway, when I thought I was alone. I was thrown into the arena pit, they beat me bloody and bruised, which you can still see a bit. The rest of them ran like cowards when they saw Myzax with a knife, and then he carved an insult in my skin, a permanent reminder of just how hostile it is here."

He muttered a few more words, "Assault, torture, humiliation..", then he looked back to him for a minute.

"This'll take care of it. They won't be getting off easy, so don't worry too much on it. And we'll be seeing you next week?"

"No."

The principal shifted in his seat a little, "If you don't feel welcome-"

"No, I don't feel welcome. I doubt I ever will feel welcome. I'm leaving, there's nothing left for me here. You'll be needing this back", he took off his jacket and dropped it on the desk.

He was almost out the door before turning his head, "By the way, Sendak never really beat up Shiro that day. Me and the rest of the team were already destroying the books and punching him before he intervened on his behalf. So, as a last request, I'd like you to take Sendak off his punishment and wipe that off his record. Oh, and ask him if he wants to be put back on the team, I hear he did a fantastic job with Myzax."

"You did that to him?", his mother said, finding his claim hard to believe.

"Yes, and multiple others. I'd say the entire school treated him bad, really. Funny how no bullying here ever really gets solved until someone is injured or worse", he spoke calmly for someone admitting their sins.

His parents remained sitting down, "Haxus, we're not letting you drop out", she said.

"You don't control that decision anymore, I'm nineteen and I give my consent and willingness to end my studies. I'll go start the car, if you'll allow me."

She glared while she handed the keys over, "You'll regret it. You can't get far in life without a degree."

' _Farther away from you two is all I need_ ', his mind said while he made his way to the car.

As he started the ignition, a thought occurred to him. He was alone, he knew how to drive, and his parents still weren't out the door yet. Looking to the exit he sped away quickly, not caring about them anymore. The drive was only ten minutes to his house, though he started getting calls from them after the first four passed. He wouldn't steal the car for himself, he just needed to get to his things and go.

He beeped the car into 'off' mode before getting inside and frantically packing. A traveling bag laid in the closet, big enough for a reasonable amount of clothes. He threw as much outfits as he could drag around into it, his personal computer in one of the larger pockets, his own savings from his dresser. Deodorant too, if he was going without showers he could try to smell nicer. He knew his mother kept his phone locked in a kitchen drawer, so a hammer would be useful to bust it out. Taking the other car that was "his" was off the table, his parents were the ones who bought it and held actual ownership. The last thing he did was write a note to them, a defiant refusal to live in that household anymore.

 

 

  
Leaving through the front was too open, he would have to leave through the back and through some yards. He was careful not to travel through many open parts, in favor of wooded areas he could walk through. In the direction he came from he could hear sirens, police looking for him no doubt. All he needed to do was find someone willing to take him into the city, only a half hour away. He stood to the side of the road and hoped someone would notice him, luckily someone did.

"Where're headed, fella?", the elderly driver said.

"Just to the city", he said, otherwise ignoring him for the rest of the trip. His ears had been to the back of his head the entire time, this whole decision left him hollow. Driving into it was easy enough, finding a place to live was not. Despite what he tried, none of them would accept his down payment. He had no credit, nothing to guarantee he could regularly pay bills. If he had to rough it, he was glad he had enough money to ration out meals for awhile longer.

 

*Three weeks later*

 

Hungry. That was the only thing he could focus on. He hadn't showered in weeks, he had long since gotten used to his own rancid smell in the heat. He had been careful to avoid the police looking for him, never staying in one part of the city for too long. He used his money sparingly, never for anything beyond food or the occasional newspaper. Despite that, it still dwindled faster than he had expected. His phone had been dead for two and a half weeks, when local cafe's started catching on to his living conditions they refused to let him come in at all. It wasn't right, nor was it fair. He had the money to pay for it, why didn't they let him get his food and catch up with the news? He hadn't forced himself to look through a dumpster yet, despite his stomach's urging. Luckily he found a street restaurant, they were willing to sell him a sandwich. Somehow they recognized he was living on the streets, and let him have it for free. There was an alley nearby, with a fairly comfortable looking bag of trash to lean against while he ate. He would've continued, if not for noticing someone coming up to him.

"Money."

Another teen was standing in front of him, barely younger than his current age, holding up a knife.

"I don't have any", he went back to eating.

The galra snatched the food away, "I saw you paying for it. Money, now."

"I'm homeless. You're trying to rob a homeless person."

"Why the hell do you think I'm out here? I'm hungry too. Money. I will cut you open and leave you here to die."

Haxus rolled his eyes and pulled out his wallet, "No need to ask so nicely."

He pulled out a bill enough for a meal, but the shaking knife remained close to him.

"I said the money. All of it."

Haxus had been in a situation like this in an arena, he wasn't going to be pushed around any longer. Especially not by someone who didn't understand 'sharing is caring' only went so far.

"Come and get it."

The teen swung the knife in an easily countered fashion, which he had predicted. He grabbed the knife away and shoved the younger one into a wall. The teen desperately held onto the sandwich, Haxus felt some pity for him, but he would still let him know to back off.

"You know, there's a saying you should learn. 'Don't harm the hand that provides'. Take the money and food I gave you and get the hell out of here. Forget about getting this flimsy thing back, unless you want to try your luck with a former arena competitor."

The teen ran off immediately, Haxus threw the knife into a nearby dumpster for good measure. That's how his days usually went, struggling to feed himself, fending off another hungry soul, trying to find a place to sleep, and usually something would go wrong. The wheels on his baggage constantly bumped against the concrete, he was surprised one of them hadn't-

*Snap*

Oh joy, a wheel fell off. And not in a way he could easily repair. Well, he didn't have to roll it around upright, he could use the two on the back to roll it. He never pulled it behind him, afraid of someone unzipping the contents without his knowledge and thieving from it. Now he had to find another street cart for something to eat, considering his sandwich from before was someone else's meal now. One was nearby, a smoked meat stand, this one he actually had to pay for. He made a wise decision to eat next to the stand, he'd already been harassed in enough alleys for one day.

The shopkeep tried to shoo him away, he ignored him and continued eating. The next thing he saw was a phone going out of the owner's pocket, calling the police to remove the problem. He didn't care if he was being a problem, in fact he sat there to wait for them. He had a right to sit somewhere and eat, and by the gods he would exercise it. A police vehicle rolled up to the curb a few minutes later, he frowned at their arrival. One officer stepped out, a younger officer. He was the type they used to put in schools to find the dealers. And then his partner stepped out.......Antok?

"Shit!", he whispered, bringing his shirt up to start wiping his face, an excuse to hide it.

The younger officer approached first, "Alright, you're exposing yourself and loitering. You gotta go sometime buddy."

"No", he said, making his voice gravelly, he was lucky his forcibly cut off ex-lover didn't recognize him.

"What, you got a cold?", he heard Antok say, he hadn't heard his voice in weeks.

"Yes."

"Alright, well put the shirt down and we can let you off with a warning."

"I...can't. It's hot and there's too much sweat on my face", he hoped it would be enough to have them leave.

"Alright, stand up. Hands behind your head", he heard Antok say.

He slowly rised, ashamed at Antok about to see him in such a state. His shirt dropped to show a dirtied, sweat covered face, not what he would've liked him to see. Antok meanwhile was astonished, not really certain if life was playing a trick on him.

"Haxus?", he asked before anything. The galra in question nodded, almost close to crying from being seen on the streets. Antok didn't care about that, only joyous that he'd found out where his date had ended up. He took him in a tight hug, surprising Haxus more than anything. His head was pushed into his chest, something in him sparked up again, love? The shopkeep near was just as bewildered as the co-officer.

"Do you know this kid?", he asked.

Antok turned him around, "He's the one that went missing a few weeks ago. And I met him before he ran off."

Haxus tried punching the arm away, "You can't turn me in! I'm not going back to that hellhole!"

Antok had to wrestle him to the wall, "Hey, just calm down. I'm not turning you in, but we have to bring you back to put an end to your file. I'll have to cuff you if you keep trying to beat me, so I suggest stopping."

The young galra's breathing slowed before he relaxed his arms, letting them hang while Antok stepped away. He opened the door of his transport, letting him put his bag in first before driving him off. The ride wasn't a long one, though he would've liked to stay away from where they would put him on record. And they would probably call his parents too, like he needed to see them. 

"After you", Antok said, opening the passenger door once they arrived at the station.

 

 

  
The whole process took a few hours for them to go through, he didn't like to be kept in a waiting room. He had to give them his fingerprints, as well as a blood sample for D.N.A. recognition. Antok was the only one who kept close by, waiting for an opportunity to get them alone. He had some food with him, carry-out from a restaurant nearby. Haxus was sat down at a work desk, shoveling the food down until there wasn't even a crumb left over.

"So, you've been living out there?", Antok asked, curious as to how he kept on his own.

"Better than with my parents, they know what happened between us. I'm not going back there. Legally it's kidnapping if they try to force me. Don't try to stop me."

"I'm not making you. Did your parents hit you? Your nose looks a little beat up."

He wiped his mouth with a napkin, "Not them. Remember that kid who took the photo? Some people at school made it clear they didn't want me there after it spread around. Maybe you remember hearing about a certain gladiator student carving up another one, I don't know if it was in the news."

Antok's face shifted to horror, "That was you? I heard them talking about a new juvi resident that sent some people to the hospital, but I never thought you were part of them."

"I should've seen it coming. You've noticed my arm, right? Sick branding", he wiped some of the dirt from it, Antok mortified to see that word carved into him.

"He wanted me to know what I was, so he wrote it in me permanently. Won't see me without long-sleeved shirts anymore, I'll say that much..", he hardly noticed the salty tears running down his cheeks, recalling his humiliation was standard at this point.

"Hey, hey, you're alright now", he went in to hug him, though Haxus didn't give one back. He just wanted support, someone to hold him, even if a hug was from someone he couldn't see a future with anymore.

He moved his face in Antok's shoulder, "I'm sorry for running away. Not just from everything, but from you. I didn't mean to end things so abruptly, it was just-"

"Don't apologize. Don't you ever apologize for getting embarrassed like you did. You handled yourself, that's more than a lot of people I've known. Don't you ever let anyone put you down, be proud of yourself."

The battered youth thought of a joke, "Hard to be proud of being homeless, but whatever you say."

"You don't have to be homeless."

Did he mean?.....no. He couldn't just put himself on someone else like that. He couldn't pay for it, he didn't have a job, he just couldn't help support it.

"I.....don't want anyone to take me in. I'm not ready for-"

"Bullshit", the cop interrupted.

Haxus looked to his bag, "Really, you shouldn't-"

"I should. I can't let you live out there like that. Where do you sleep?"

Haxus tried to think of where he'd been. An alleyway at night, secluded under a highway pass, even in a dumpster when he'd been chased by some thugs. He didn't want to sleep in any of those places again, but he wouldn't make Antok spend money he didn't have. Looking towards the exit, he grabbed his bag by the good end and started to wheel away.

"I'll talk to you some other time", not. He wouldn't ever be talking to him, as long as he found someone willing to take some money to help him travel elsewhere. He didn't hate him, but he didn't want to see a constant reminder of what could've been.

"No, you can't just leave", Antok's hand stopped his bag. Haxus tried pulling it free, but Antok was strong.

"You're breaking the law by forcing me to stay here without a charge, so I-", Antok kissed him, only for a second, but the moment felt like an age. Haxus stood there in pleasant surprise, dropping his bag.

"I...you still.."

"Like you? Yes. I like you enough to give you a home."

Haxus had caught a break, reuniting with someone he liked and getting invited to live with them, even if it was so soon in whatever relationship they were forming. Still, he worried that finding a job wouldn't be easy, and what about rent? No, he didn't need to run again, he would deal with those problems as they came, the way an adult should deal with it.

"Thank you..", he said, hugging him tight before picking up his bag, they had places to be. And he had places to rest, he couldn't wait to be under a blanket again.

 

  
The drive to his little home didn't take long, perhaps it was but with Antok he didn't feel like time was dragging anymore. Drives made him feel sleepy, so a quarter into it he napped in the car. Later he found himself getting woken up, his love evidently didn't want him sleeping in a car on his first night back into society. One of the first things he did when he got inside was to jump into the shower, he didn't care how long he stayed, nor how many times he would rewash himself. All the grime from living that way washed down quickly, though he still ended up using half a bottle of shampoo.

"Antok..", he said once he finally got out. He had dressed himself in one of the few pairs of clean clothes he'd managed to keep that way.

"Hey, you get the bed tonight", he said, giving him an extra blanket.

"With you or myself?"

Antok blushed a little beneath the fur, "Well, I didn't want to make you think I wanted to do anything, and I think after all that time without a bed you'd need one just for yourself."

"Alright....see you in the morning", he walked up the stairs to get accustomed to his bed.

It was comfortable, and he had no trouble finding a comfy spot to rest his head on. But over the next few hours, he found himself missing something, or someone. No matter how many times he turned, he just couldn't get himself to sleep. Did he know what he wanted? Yes, but maybe Antok was right, perhaps it was too soon to share a bed again. But without him he felt alone, a feeling that had made itself known too much over the past few weeks. He put a hand to the other pillow, an image of Antok smiling there was easy to imagine.

"Antok", he said, waking the galra from his sleep in the chair.

"Haxus...it's really *yawn* late...", he said, scratching his face but smiling for his new tenant.

"Can you come with me?", he said, leading him up to the bed.

With his gracious host in tow, he could finally get some sleep. Antok was laid and told to face Haxus while he rested, this way he could rest in his fur. Well, the fur that was under his shirt, he told him to take it off without a moment of hesitation. He did the same, wanting to feel that fur against his skin again. Even if it seemed like it was rushing things along, this was only for sleeping right now.

"Comfy?", his pillow told him while rubbing his ears.

Haxus nodded and closed his eyes, a small kiss received on the top of his head only made him get closer. Antok began purring, that only made him sleepier, that comfortable, rhythmic sound along with the soft thumping of the heart behind his warm chest. He could almost hear Antok whispering something, but he was too close to snoozing to care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaand they're back together. I wouldn't just let him be homeless forever, characters deserve to be happy past their faults.


	13. The Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even if Shiro's stuck in the hospital, who's to say he shouldn't have a bit of fun with his now functioning arm?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter, and I'll upload another one tomorrow. Hint hint, it's about the other happy couple.

Shiro sat in his bed, reading a book while his parents did the same or watched the news on the television nearby. Unfortunately for him, the dance had to occur during his arm trials in the hospital. Simple healing could be done quickly, to the extent of mostly cleansing a wound with a bit of outside help. They could've used Altean healing technology, but the bill for that was ludicrously exorbitant. As a sad twist, reattaching the organic arm would've cost less than a healing pod, but still much more expensive than the replacement they went with. There was still a silver lining, he could move and walk on his own now, even his new arm could operate to an extent the doctors allowed it to. Too bad he couldn't make it to the dance, he would've liked to go.

*Knock, knock*

A visitor? Probably Sendak again, nice of him to sacrifice his time at the dance to visit Shiro. His mother went to open it, both already knew

"Hello? Oh, I'll let him know", his mother turned from the door, to signal him to come see who it was.

And there was his usual visitor as predicted, Sendak wearing that dumb smile like always. Though this time he was wearing a tuxedo, purpleish-black, a matching bowtie as well. And also a bouquet of local flowers, the petals on some curled in the shape of a drill. Others would slightly curl into themselves, like an oddly shaped bowl. Shiro thought they were one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. In his other hand he carried a box, average size for something like a dress, or shirt. Shiro indeed found clothes, his own dance outfit he'd ordered a month back.

Sendak straighted his bowtie, "Since you're not allowed to leave, I figured I should bring the dance to you."

"Yeah, look at my handsome hospital gown, since I know you'd call it that."

"It is handsome", he said, a slight wink from his regular eye, Shiro blushing a little.

"Did you guys plan this for me?", he asked them.

His stepfather spoke up, "It was all his idea, though we did help pay for some of the other things."

Shiro brushed aside his blankets, "Guess I'll find out what those are, then."

 

 

  
Before he dressed himself better, he sniffed the flowers deeply. One of them smelled of honey, he quickly found that to be his favorite. His outfit didn't take long to put on, it fit like a dream and he pulled it off better than he expected. It was a few floors down to reach the spot Sendak was taking him, a balcony next to a waiting room, big enough to house a few candles, a bowl of punch, and a digital music player. Even a few balloons were strung about the corners, translucent and slightly blowing in the wind.

"You did all this, just so I could have a dance?", he asked, still contemplating how Sendak got permission to do this.

"Of course I did, I don't want you to miss something I'd been planning with you, now do I?"

He hugged the galra as much around the waist as he could, "Thank you. I like the effort you put into it."

Sendak hadn't expected a hug, but he smiled and returned it carefully. Shiro's arm may have been meticulously put there, but it still needed some time to fully meld with the skin. Then the freshly mixed punch caught his partner's eye, he abandoned the galra for a sweet drink. It even had some ice cream floating at the top, he was sure to get some of the creamy foam in with the cup. He drank it all down in one badly-thought out swig, slightly coughing after the big gulp.

"Man, she hasn't let me have anything nice here."

Sendak laughed and got some himself, it was only a simple powder mix, but it was still delicious when enough sugar was added. Some spilled into his fur, he had to use his tuxedo to dry it off. Meanwhile Shiro was able to use his date's phone to play through the speakers set up on the table. One of his favorite songs was one his mother used to play to him all the time as a kid, still catchy to him to that very day. A few little beats started the song off simply, repeating themselves a few times while Shiro got into the music. He shook his hands a few times to the starting drums, soon singing along with the music.

'We get it almost every night, when that moon gets so big and bright. It's supernatural delight, everybody was dancing in the moonlight', he took Sendak's hand and took him for a dance.

'Everybody here is out of sight, they don't bark and they don't bite. They keep things loose, they keep things light, everybody was dancing in the moonlight', Sendak was trying his best to dance along with it, though he didn't listen to much Earth music.

'Dancing in the moonlight, everybody's feeling warm and bright. It's such a fine and natural sight, everybody's dancing in the moonlight', Shiro sang his loudest then, his galran date liked the way he had fun.

The rest of the song went that way, Shiro singing along. He even imitated a guitar when it came on. Soon the song got to repeating it's chorus and Shiro danced it to the end. He'd never seen him so happy before, enjoying his little moment and dance. Sendak even showed him some of his music, it wasn't too far off from what some Earth bands would sound like. Shiro adapted easily to the music, Sendak meanwhile sweating from trying to keep up with his date's energy.

"I like your music, even if it sounded a little odd", he said, noting Shiro's preference for songs from Earth.

"I like yours too, they don't sound odd."

"You should try Galran music, it's-"

*Bzzzzt, Bzzzzt*

Sendak checked his phone to see a holo-time request, interrupting their otherwise pleasant chat. Seeing as it was from Mizal he accepted. Immediately a blare of music came from the phone, followed by a cheer of "HI SHIRO" from the crowd.

"Hello", he said, waving nervously at the crowd he couldn't see completely.

"You won the king! Even though you can't wear it, here's the crown", she held it up to let him see it proper. He could wear it as a hologram, though not as the real thing.

"Yippee", he said, putting his head through as though he were intentionally trying it out.

Mizal and the crowd laughed, "Just wanted to let you know that. Alright, gotta go folks!", she went away from the crowd near the wall. "By the way, how's your date going?"

"Our dance you mean?", he corrected.

"Well, I'm sort of wondering when you two were-"

"MIZAL, I think it's time for you to go now", Sendak said, popping his head in to give her a flustered look.

"Awww, he really does want to-" *beep*

"You want to what?"

"It's stupid. If I had to guess, she was going to say we did a slow dance or something cliche like that. Unless, you actually do want to try that?", he asked, bringing up a music application on his phone.

"You can play music, but we don't have to dance. Just something relaxing, ever looked at the stars before?", he said, beginning to lay on the stone in wait for Sendak to lay next to him.

"Not in a long time. But if you want to do that, sure", he picked a playlist and turned the volume down a few.

 

 

  
Countless amounts of the gas-filled objects peppered the night sky, twinkling for any who was willing to look. Sendak really hadn't looked at them seriously since his childhood, now brushing up his memory on them. There was 'The yupper', a few stars that could be seen as a large pet that tended to agree with someone. Another was 'The emperor', a few arranged in a downwards arrow with a t-shape above it, almost like it was forming a frown of a leader. Shiro was looking at them on his own, searching for something that didn't seem to be there, maybe the stars as he remembered on Earth. Meanwhile Sendak yawned and stretched his arms up, bring his hands back down to his side. He felt something under his hand, Shiro's soft skin against a furred hand.

The two looked at each other for a moment, neither moved to prevent it. Shiro blushed and smiled, turning his hand to properly hold the larger one. Sendak returned the grip, squeezing softly a few times. But they couldn't stare at each other for long, they had stars to push their gazes towards. His hand felt warm, maybe a little too warm, after a minute it felt wet with his sweat.

"The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that can't be seen", Shiro said.

"Where did that come from?"

Shiro turned his face at the galra to the left of him, "It's from a book my mom used to read to me as a kid. I thought it would be appropriate."

Sendak chuffed a laugh, "I still don't know what it means."

"Well you didn't ask what it meant, you asked where it came from. But really, it kinda came from the heart. Even if it's fiction, I think it's fun to believe in something."

He sat up and looked at Sendak with a studious face, reaching one rude conclusion.

"Your mouth is weird."

Sendak mentally brushed it off and smiled, "I'm sorry? Yours isn't exactly normal either."

"No, really. It's got all that fur, and I'm wondering...how do you not get a bunch of hairs in your mouth?"

His head shook with suppressed laughter, "Is this a life changing question for you? It's really not how you think. It doesn't just lean into the mouth, they're shorter hairs. Someone else might have that problem, but not me."

"Funny. I wonder what kissing that would be like..", he said, leading himself onto Sendak.

"What are you trying to make me do?", Sendak started to hold him intimately.

"Nothing you seem to be against. Just tell me when to stop", he grabbed a hold of his neck, "tell me when", his new arm rubbing an ear, "tell me when", just an inch away from his lips.

"When", Sendak said, turning his lips away, suddenly looking as if he caught a cold.

Shiro drooped in his mood, "You really don't want to kiss me then."

"I'm flattered, but you shouldn't look for that with me", he said, some sudden guilt rising in him.

Shiro frowned a little, "Why not?"

"I hurt you, and even if I spent all this time trying to show I'm different, I still can't see why I did it", at that he started to cry, frowning as he hugged Shiro, attempting to get his forgiveness again, not for the sake of knowing he was forgiven but to show how deeply regretful he was.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...", he held Shiro tightly, but the human wasn't disgusted with him. He whispered in his ear, in fact, reassuring him he wasn't a bad person. Sendak wanted to believe that, he wanted to see it, but that nagging conscious couldn't go away.

"You're not an asshole. You were, if that's what you were wanting to hear. I won't say you weren't, I still vividly remember a lot of it. But you're not the same person you were, and you're better for it. I know a lot of people haven't forgiven you, I don't even know if I do, but I like you."

"I like you too, I don't ever want to cause you pain again", he hugged him tighter, hoping it would add to his honesty.

"Just don't break up with me, or cheat on me."

"What?", he said, he thought they just shared a simple dance, one to acknowledge feelings but keep it as a friendship.

Shiro put himself in his lap, "You're not a perfect guy, but you're working on it. I don't want someone else to steal you away when I wondered on the what-if's of it, I want to know what dating you is like."

"Your arm is gone because of me..", he said, feeling it with his own mechanical one.

"It's not. I did that, to save your other one. Don't blame yourself Sendak, it's not healthy to think too much on it. Just give this a shot, I know you've been wanting to", he cuddled up and kissed his cheek, his date starting to purr a bit loudly from the feeling of his lips pressed into fur.

"That's a nice sound, you should do that more often."

"All right. Keep smiling for me, little beauty", he said, recalling what he'd called him so many months ago. Shiro shifted his head under Sendak's chin, feeling his throat shake with the purr. The night sky, the slightly late hours, and the sound of his purr, all made him feel drowsier than usual. It could've been that he was comfortable, or maybe it was the fur that felt as soft as a pillow. He would just rest his eyes for a minute.....

"Shiro!", Sendak's voice had woken him up, he blinked a few times to try to help himself from going back to sleep.

"I'm *Yawn* tired", he said sleepily, falling into him again.

"We don't sleep out here. Let's get you back to your bed, ok?", he helped him up, letting the human hang on his arm.

"Ok..thank..you..", he said, his eyes either being half-open or closed as he walked. The hospital wasn't as active now, it wasn't very late, but most visitors would come during the day. When they got up to his floor, he held onto Sendak a little looser, almost falling until Sendak picked him up. He put Shiro's arms around his neck, carrying him by his back and under his legs. His mother looked very confused when they arrived at the room, wondering why her son was being carried like that.

He set Shiro down in his bed, "Rest easy, little beauty."

"What did you call him?", his boyfriend's mother asked, wondering why he'd said something so flirtatious.

"Dating....now...don't go", Shiro said to them, the last part meant for the galra.

"You should rest, it'll get you out sooner. I'll see you at school, ok?", he gave him a kiss to the forehead, pulling up a blanket to keep him warm.

"Ok...", Shiro closed his eyes, an endearing smile accompanying him.

Before Sendak left, Shiro's mother wanted to have a few words with him in the hall. If he was right, she probably wanted to lay out some rules for dating her son. What he received was a little of what he expected, though still far harsher than anything he anticipated.

"If you hurt him, cheat on him, make him feel neglected, anything like that, _I will make your life a living hell._ Got it?", she pulled him down by his tuxedo, dangerously close to his neck.

"Y-yes ma'am!", he said in fear to the glaring woman.

She pushed him back up before letting go, "Good. You're lucky to get him, I'm not so quick to forget what you did."

"I would never hurt him again. I know you still don't trust me, maybe you don't like that I'm dating him, but I....I love him", he was sure in his mind that was the truth.

"If you do, then you'll prove it. He likes you for now, in truth, I might've seen this coming earlier. He asked to see you, the first thing he did when he woke up. You were still put to sleep for an eye replacement, they said, and he had to go through surgery. He was worried you wouldn't like his new arm, what a silly thing to think on."

Sendak slightly smiled at this, his boyfriend worrying that someone with a cybernetic arm would dislike someone in the same situation. His arm wasn't ugly, it was perfect. He waved a goodbye to Shiro's mother, before setting off home.

 

He walked through the door to his parents house, feeling a new sense of joy in life. His mother was trying to ask him a question about how it went, but he decided to give her a tight hug as a response. His father got the same treatment, both of them wondering why their son had some newfound fondness for hugging.

"We're dating!", he said, undressing his tuxedo, it had grown to get hot on him.

"What? Dating who?", she asked.

"Shiro!"

He was glad to see they had an enthusiastic response, both hugging him and saying how happy they were for him. He was happy for himself too, glad to have been given Shiro's mutual liking. But how to show his love, that he would need to think on more. He bid the two goodnight, going to his room to plan out a date with him. It was then that his memory recalled the first offense he made to Shiro. Though that date was a fake one, and it was a cruel thing to do then, he wouldn't be lying this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shendak established, but no direct kiss yet. I really debated with myself about putting it in the chapter, but ultimately I decided against it. Oh well, mutual feelings and starting to date are better than nothing.


	14. The Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haxus reunites with his gone-too-soon lover, but others wish to reunite that he isn't too pleased to meet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to update on time again :)  
> It's been a hectic couple of days and I got distracted, sorry for unintentionally lying about updating it

Haxus awoke in a different bed again, not the trash heap he'd since gotten used to. Next to him was his galra, or maybe not his, but he wanted him to be. Perhaps Antok meant to, but his arms felt personally touchy. Not that he minded being held that way, he just never expected to get right back into their intimacies he so fondly remembered. He would've tried moving a little, but that would've woken up his bedmate. Oh well, he needed to use the restroom, it was a small price to pay at...11:00 in the morning according to the clock on the bedtable.

"Haxus..", he heard him say, trying to grab for him just as he was almost off the bed.

"Yes?", he said, turning around. He didn't need to use the restroom just yet, he could wait a second longer.

Antok opened his eyes slightly, "Where are you going?"

Haxus sat next to him, "Just to the bathroom,", his hands ran through his furred chest, "why?"

"Stay with me", he held his hand, so he really did want to keep dating him. Haxus didn't want to upset him by leaving, but he really did need to go.

"I'll be right back", he said, kissing Antok's hand.

It only took a few minutes to finish and freshen up. His face in the mirror caught his attention, even if it wasn't much standing out. He put a few fingers up to the fading bruises, now nearly the same shade as the rest of his skin. He was almost the same as before, almost. Still, a part of him was curious to know if Antok would hate to see him beaten as before. But that didn't matter, they were together again, he could lay next to him and..love him? Yes, love, he did love him, how couldn't he?

"Hello again, handsome", he finally got back to him, getting under Antok's arm, the galra ran his fingers through Haxus's hair, then scratched his ears.

As best as he could, he pulled Antok over to lay on top. The galra caught on, now moving over him, both still shirtless from the last night. His body was still thin, and Antok still so strong. With both of them exposed, even only a little, the mood was right.

"I...l-luh..", he stuttered out. Antok's ear's went up a little, his eyes going a little wider, though still squinting slightly.

"Go ahead, I won't judge you", he smiled again.

"I l-luh...love........you", he said, finally, afraid it wasn't the right time to say that.

Antok rubbed his face so adoringly, "I love you too."

Both stared into the other's eyes, understanding how close they felt. Haxus had always thought of Antok, his smile, his care, his playful nature. And Antok had thought of Haxus, the first new relationship he'd had in a long while, someone who made him feel love after all that time. The feelings intensified equally, since both thought they'd never see the other again. The galra overtop him leaned in first, closing his eyes, Haxus copying him. Once their mouths met, they couldn't separate, content to show love the most basic way. Slowly he felt his cheek, Antok doing something similar for his ears, neither making a sound besides their lips reconnecting now and then.

Haxus spoke a little, "Is it bad that I love you so soon?", back to kissing those larger lips.

"I don't think it is", Antok said back, rubbing his hand down an arm as he kissed.

"Should we have sex?"

Antok laughed a little, "It's a bit quick to get into that, isn't it?"

"You could say so", he laughed and smoothed the fur on his chest, not sexually, just to feel his body again. Such hard muscles under the fur, but so soft and warm, definitely good for cuddling with him. So he did that, he pulled himself into him, lying under him, then just beside him again after more comfortable repositioning. For the next hour or so, they stayed that way, a quarter napping, a quarter kissing, and a quarter petting the other's body. But like anyone else, they had to rise and shine, especially since Haxus needed to use the restroom again, maybe Antok too. Before they did anything, Haxus plugged his phone into a charger, having still not used it since he ran from his parents.

"I should shower", Antok said, undressing himself, making sure to let his crotch flop around the appropriate amount.

"Hmm..maybe I can join you", his boyfriend said, also getting himself nude.

"Beautiful body..", he took hold of Haxus's waist, scratching at the small patch of fur at the center of his chest.

"You're even more beautiful", he said, his height just barely reaching to his shoulder's.

Antok lifted him up, "You're most beautiful", he kissed him for a minute, Haxus grabbing his head to stay like that, before something interrupted them.

He looked down in a bit of shame, "Sorry, you make me feel...well you know the rest."

"My specialty", he led him down the stairs.

Their shower, if you could call it that, was mainly spent kissing, and due to that it lasted nearly an hour. They played around with each other, touching the other down there, yet never doing anything much more. Haxus's excuse was that he was cleaning him, Antok said he just wanted to touch him. But all good things must come to an end, even their shower as much as either of them enjoyed it. Once dried off Haxus checked his phone, frowning at the sight of the chain of messages. 100+ from his mother, just as many in missed calls. His father hadn't sent anything, fortunately, he didn't mind, he stopped being family the minute he beat his son. But his mother's message was more concerning, her request was simple:

'Can we meet up?'

*Sigh* "I should've expected this", he said, not fully dressed yet.

"What's wrong?"

"My mother. I knew she would be sending me messages, but my curiosity got the better of me", he said, quickly typing out his own reply:

'Fine, but I'm bringing my boyfriend.'

Antok put a hand to his forehead, "What did I say about leaving shitty people behind?"

"Don't talk about her like that. Even if she didn't want me to be gay, she still loved me anyway. Knowing that, I'm still not entirely looking forward to this, what if she hates the relationship?"

"Do you want me to come?", his fingers intertwined to Haxus's.

"Of course I do. We're dating, even living together, I want to make that clear", he said, setting up a meeting at the cafe.

 

  
Walking into the slightly busy cafe he looked around for his mother. Sitting at a table with a few drinks was her, looking at her phone and playing a word game with her friends like always. He walked up to her slowly, with Antok close behind wearing a jacket. Once spotted she leapt up immediately, crying a little and hugging him. Thankfully his father wasn't around, all the better for their reconnection. Once she got a look at Antok, she made a somewhat forced smile, though her uncomfortable demeanor still radiated.

"Haxus, sweetie, I missed you", she said, signalling her son to sit down, ignoring Antok completely.

"You can sit too", he said, not content with leaving him left out.

She smiled nervously, "You're his....person...right?"

"Boyfriend, mom", he said, holding his hand openly, despite her feelings on it.

She frowned a little, "Honey, I'm going to be honest. I think you're confused, and I'll never really understand what this is. But...I can't stop you. So whoever you love, I'll accept them."

"And what about dad?", he wouldn't be forgetting who the real problem was.

She stammered for a second, "He's...he's not happy. I've tried talking to him, even if we think it's a psychological problem, I've read about how trying to force your mind to change wouldn't really work. He's been crying, you know. He misses you, he didn't expect you to be leaving."

"Is he here?"

She looked out the window, "...In the car. You know he was looking for you? He even stopped drinking, he wants you back at the house, we both do."

"Let's get this over with then", he left their little booth, going out to the door despite what his mother and Antok tried to say.

He was tired of running, from school, from his parents, from his life. Even if he would just leave them again, which was still a very good possibility, he would do it properly. His father saw him coming out, opening his door to see his son, who hadn't forgotten what his father so easily called him. Haxus saw him quickly striding over, readying himself for a fight without showing it. But instead of a fist, he found himself in a hug from his father. He hadn't gotten one from him in, quite literally, years.

"Running off with a stranger, what's the hell's the matter with you?", he said to his son, who felt tears from his father's eyes.

"Don't pretend, I know you don't like me", Haxus said, cruel and cold, just as his father would say it. He wouldn't even hug him back, he didn't deserve it.

"Quiet. Even if you're....a queer...I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Well, well, 'a queer' is how you put it? Step up from faggot", a hug wasn't going to fix years of equal bitterness between them, all the drunken yelling that ended in a physical fight between them.

"I'm sorry. For the drinking, abuse, for all that. I didn't expect you to turn out like one of them, I tried to make it get out of you, and then you left. I never wanted to make you leave. I've always loved and been proud of you, even if I didn't show it how I should've. Even if you're not what I had laid out in my mind, you're the best son a father could ask for."

Haxus cried a little, "Don't make me cry, you son of a bitch."

"I deserve that", his father wasn't speaking roughly, unusual.

"You fucking _beat me!_ You did that to your twelve-year old son! I couldn't fight back until I was fourteen! Then you wouldn't even talk to me unless it was drunken slurs! I signed onto sports for you, I never liked them but I thought that would fix it, and you still....you still....", when did he start hugging his father? He hadn't done it in years either, strangely he didn't want to let go. The bastard didn't deserve a hug, but maybe this talk was what they needed.

"I know, I know, I don't hate you, being a f- being a fairy doesn't mean anything."

Antok eyed him with a close guard, "Did I hear that right? You beat up a child? Multiple times?"

His father looked at him with a glare, "I'm not proud of it."

The galra looked to his boyfriend, "You want me to arrest him?"

After a moment of shock from his parents, he thought on it. His father truly had been a bastard, even if he was apologetic now that might change again later. In the end, however much he would've wanted punishment, he didn't want to cause problems between his family. Not that he was going to suddenly be as close to his father as he was before, but willing to give him a chance.

"Let him be", at that Antok looked disappointed.

"Only because you said so."

Haxus's mother spoke quietly, "Do you want to come stay with us?"

He expected that, and he hadn't been looking forward to it any more than he could predict it. He did love his mother, his father...wasn't on the same page as that yet. But too many years of passive-aggressive, or just outright aggressive abuse plagued his mind.

"I can't.....I'm finally happy with Antok. I don't hate you mom, and dad, you're going to need much more time before we're anywhere near what I think is considered good terms. I can live with someone else, I love him as much as he loves me. There's too much stress attached to that house, I need to be somewhere else."

Even though his mother looked slightly sad about his decision, she still smiled and hugged him before he left again. She still had one more surprise up her sleeve, one that his father even contributed to.

"We brought your car. It's at the end of the lot, but it's not much use to us at home", she started to walk to it, and there it was, ready to be given to him completely. In the back were some boxes and bags, probably his clothes he couldn't take among with his other things. It was most of what he remembered, only without the bed.

"No strings attached?", he said to them.

"None at all. Will you visit us?"

"Of course I will, but probably not too soon. I don't know how long it would be, weeks or months....feel free to call during that time."

With that he departed, boyfriend in tow to park the newly acquired car on the curb. Despite what he thought it would do, he didn't feel happy about this. Maybe it was something of himself that was far too attached to his mother, whatever it was he didn't like it. They were far too kind to trust completely, he could never imagine them changing within a day, or weeks for that matter.

 

 

They arrived with a somber mood, mainly from Haxus but a bit from Antok upon seeing his boyfriend get so down. Despite Haxus saying he could do it himself, he still walked him inside, arms hugged around his shoulder as they went. The only thing either wanted to do was collapse on the bed with each other, nap for a bit, possibly even kiss. What he didn't expect was to be licked.

"What was that?", he said, feeling at the wet spot on his forehead.

"Thought it could make you laugh", he did it again, though he didn't hear a laugh, only a purr.

"You like that?", he said, pulling him to get the head better.

"W-why do you do this..", he said, purring and letting him do as he pleased, he couldn't even smile from the sensation of the tongue along his skin.

"I...", he got licked close to the mouth, "..can't make love right now."

Antok nibbled near his ear, "Who said anything about making love?", his hand started to get touchy, much like their earlier encounter.

"Antok...I love you, but not right now", he gave him a quick kiss, grabbing his phone to call someone important.

"What now?"

Haxus dialed quickly, "I should really get back to school."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's your Hantok chapter. Which, we'll see another one later on, but this allows me to make sure Haxus doesn't fuck his life up.


	15. The welcoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro returns to school, but he's bringing along someone else to surprise everyone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uhhhh, here's the next chapter. I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but this is the best I can manage.

Shiro was walking to the doors as slow as he could, nervous to think about what people would see his new arm as. A weakness? Hideous? He knew he had nothing to worry over, but perhaps a small part of the school would judge him. Stupid to think, yes, but secret thoughts could still happen and he didn't want any negativity at the moment. If only he could just talk to Sendak, then he could stop thinking about-

"Hey", he heard someone say, they sounded hesitant to even speak. Upon turning he found Haxus, the member of the team forcibly thrown from being closeted. And beaten badly, he could still see traces of the incident on his face.

"Guess they wanted you out here for support?", Shiro said.

"I actually dropped out a few weeks ago, but they let me come back today", he admitted, though he thought Shiro already knew.

"You dropped out?", the human said, he was surprised Shiro didn't know the feeling of escaping, or wanting it.

"Yes. Sorry to bring up bad blood, but didn't you think about that at all? During the.."

"Bullying? I considered it, once I even thought of suicide..", he said, Haxus gasping at the word.

"I'm sorry...", he gave him a hug, not much could show he was trying to apologize, but this was hopefully enough to show.

Shiro gave one in return, forgetting any grudges, "It's in the past. I don't even remember you as well, I'm just trying to forget about what happened. Hey, since you don't really have a table anymore, you wanna join us?"

Haxus smiled, "If you wouldn't mind me being there."

\-------

"So, Sendak. How did your dance go?", Mizal and the others were waiting to find out the details of his date, curious if they were going steady or not.

"It went well", he told them, being vague for his own amusement.

"But how well?"

"However well it went", he was watching the doors for Shiro's arrival, wondering why he hadn't come in yet. He and many others were waiting for him, ready to welcome him back as a school with open arms. Most of were talking loudly, a few watching the door for his arrival. Sendak was continually pestered by his friends, until someone interrupted them with good news.

"He's coming! There's someone with him....is that Haxus?", someone near the doors shouted. The lights were darkened to hide most of them, though many were abuzz with the news that Haxus was back. Shiro was almost there, nearly able to open the doors, just as reported Haxus was walking next to him. When they walked in, the lights came back on, a wondering crowd met them instead of a planned 'hello'. Many were silent for a moment, until the galra with Shiro spoke up.

"...Hello", he said to the crowd, Shiro stood by in case he needed a friend.

"We all remember what happened in the arena, and I have this to show for it", he held up his arm, taking the sleeve down to reveal the scarred word. The crowd immediately found something else to look at, not wanting to see the result of spreading his personal life around.

"I don't know how the rest of you feel, but I won't let that hold me back anymore. I'm not perfect, I know I was horrible, to you especially Shiro", he looked at the human, who smiled as a comfort.

"What I'm trying to get across is I'm not pretending anymore. Who I am isn't a hateful bigot, even if I was raised to think otherwise, even if I acted like it. I love who I love, and I won't run away any longer."

Shiro spoke next, "So you all know, whatever happened a few months ago is in the past. I'm not letting pettiness shove aside someone who needs a few friends. I hope the rest of you consider that too."

That only left many of them whispering, contemplating how Shiro could forgive one of his bullies so quick. Probably since Haxus was outed and suddenly in a position to be bullied, but still odd to forget their troubled history. To try and distract them, Shiro went up to his boyfriend for a surprise.

"Hey Shiro", Sendak said, giving him a hug.

"I wanna tell you something", he said, signalling him to come closer.

He leaned his head down, "Ok? I don't know-", Shiro kissed him on the spot, in front of a surprised crowd. Sendak's ears shot up, hearing the other students reaction to the very public announcement of their relationship. Some of them were cheering, a few whistling, and others simply watched in surprise. But he didn't care, he just wanted to hold his waist and return the kiss.

"Well, I guess that answers our question", Mizal said to the side of them.

A sentry came to seperate the two, "Students: Shiro and Sendak, you will refrain from displays of affection in the halls."

The crowd laughed at the warning, Sendak was happy though. He was able to be in a relationship, one that the school actually approved of. Before everything, the human and Sendak both were outcasts for different reasons. But in the process of it all, both of them showing bravery in their own way, they'd gotten the respect of everyone else. Maybe it changed the others view on the two dating, maybe not, but it didn't matter very much.

"So..see you at lunch?", he said, squeezing his hand a few times.

"Yeah", his human said, turning to go to his own classes.

The school was buzzing with the news, wondering about how the two got together, the same talk for Haxus and his boyfriend. Neither couple never really revealed how, they left it up to the constant guessing. Some theories were closer to the mark, others flat out a terrible hit away. Even during lunch, they couldn't find peace from the questions.  
"How'd you meet this 'Antok'? He arrest you one day?", Ayka asked, her and the others didn't mind inviting him to sit at the table.

"No, it wasn't like that", he told her, hoping that would be the last of her guesses. Unfortunately she never quite knew when to stop asking.

"Gave you a warning for curfew? Noticed you were effeminate?", the accusation hit him uncomfortably.

"Is my voice feminine?", he asked quietly, looking at his slightly bony hands, his small body too.

"No, it's deep. Ayka, maybe lay off the questions for right now", Sendak said to the disappointed girl.

This continued for the rest of the day, until the dismissal bell rang. Shiro and Haxus left on their own, but Sendak had to stay for another reason.

 

  
*FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT*

The long since missed, but familiar sound of Coach Zarkon's whistle entered his ear. A few weeks prior, the school had taken his detention's away, and offered his place back on the team. Haxus was kind enough to help clear Sendak's name when he dropped out. At first, he didn't know if he wanted to get back into sports, but fighting Myzax restarted some of that fighting spirit inside him. He couldn't rejoin immediately, having to wait for them to get his gear back. But now he was back out on the practice field, the wind blowing in his fur, the sun heating it to counter the cooling. And now he could see his Coach again, the way he should've seen him.

"I'd like to welcome someone back to the team, let's give a warm reception to Sendak. Because he deserves your apologies or you can do some pushups."

"He's sleeping with a human", one of them dared to say.

"Velyik. Two-hundred. Now.", he commanded, pointing to the ground before addressing them again.

"As for the rest of you, you can either swallow your spite or join him. I couldn't give two shits about whatever's bothering you, you should be focusing on honing your skills."

One of them raised their hands, "Coach, if I may speak for the rest of us?"

"This better be good", he said, crossing his arms and slightly glaring.

"Seeing as we don't get along with Sendak outside of practice, or possibly even games, why not take him off the team?"

His coach pointed to the ground, "Two-hundred."

The rest of the team (besides Sendak) groaned at his decision.

"The only thing I'm interested in hearing are your sorry hides breathing your lungs out, save your whining for each other. Now, to start off, thirty laps around the field. Sendak will lead, I believe he still remembers how to."

His whistle sounded again, and Sendak took charge of them. A few couldn't keep up very well, him going a bit fast and all, but he knew this was the best speed for building endurance. They didn't dare slow down, or even stop, the two galra that had stepped on Coach's temper were looking to be more out of breath each time they passed. One of them collapsed just as Sendak was approaching, he took it upon himself to give some encouragement.

"Hey, you don't have to like me, but Coach is counting on you to do this. He and I have seen you do harder things, this should be nothing to you."

The galra looked at him with a glare, but nodded slightly, and went back to his push-ups.

The coach gave him a questioning look, "Did I say to give a pep talk?"

"He needed one", he returned, looking at the reinvigorated teen.

"I'll let it slide. Get back to running, they don't look nearly as tired as they should be", he looked over, only a few had managed to regain their air properly.

He got them back into the exercise, despite their dirty stares at him leading the pack. They were only a quarter of the way there, but after ten more minutes they made it to the thirty lap goal. All of them, Sendak included, took a few minutes to catch their breath's. They were only halfway through the process when they heard the whistle again, the coach pairing them up to practice fighting with each other.

"Sendak, you'll be with Kulmin. I'll give the signal."

When his whistle sounded, Kulmin immediately went on the offense. Sendak had to adjust to the sudden aggresion, but it wasn't anything he hadn't dealt with before. This type of fighting was fine if done in large numbers, meant for tiring someone out. But alone, it was easily deflectable, something he was showing off pretty easily.

"You're getting too..", he dodged a swipe of a practice weapon, "..angry. Don't let that direct you, think about how to beat me realistically."

"Why should I listen to you?", his opponent said, his weapon getting knocked away and Sendak pinning him to the ground.

"Because this is what'll happen in a game. And the point will go to a rival team. Or worse, you could lose an arm", he quickly darted his eyes to what resulted from his own injuries during the sport.

He stopped holding him down, even offering to help him get up. But his hand was refused, his attacker immediately going for the rage route again. And again, Sendak disarmed him. Over and over, Kulmin relied on his drive against Sendak rather than his own defense. Rather than tiring his intended target out, he was finding himself trying to breathe between his jabs.

"Stop", Sendak said, his coach observing him giving orders.

"You need to take my advice. I know you want to beat me, that it'll show you defeated the 'human-loving' galra, right?", he waited for an answer.

Kulmin wiped his forehead with a furred hand, "What's it matter to you?"

"It matters because it'll bring the team down. One weak link can ruin the chain."

"The hell you just call me?", his sparring partner said, picking his small weapon back up.

"You heard me. But how will you settle it, losing again? Or will you try to keep up with me?", he swung at him, his method was easily blockable. Luckily Kulmin wasn't stupid, he knew how to counter that. He looked at his own weapon in awe when he finally turned the tables on Sendak for once.

"You know how to make an opening then. But do you know how to take advantage of it?", he asked, giving a more difficult style towards him. This forced the other teen to go on the defensive, rather than his old way of going at things. But there was a difference, gradually growing each time they went at it again. Kulmin was actually holding his own, putting his partner back a few times. It culminated in Sendak finding his weapon forced to the side, a plastic weapon held up to his throat.

"Good job", he said with a smile, confusing the galra.

"I beat you...you didn't beat me", Kulmin said, his ears going to the back of his head, wondering why Sendak wasn't feeling defeated.

Sendak brushed the weapon to the side, "That's what I wanted you to do. I showed you a better way, and your reward is this. Good job", he held out a hand for Kulmin to shake, but he didn't take it. He did offer a quiet 'thanks', but he didn't look at him when he said it. He preferred to go back into fighting, wanting to beat his opponent again.

 

  
After enough time, Zarkon released them to shower. Of course, they stayed seperate from Sendak, superstitions about getting molested in their minds. He didn't even think about doing anything with them, not that he ever would now, he had someone else to ponder. There were two that spoke to him by the lockers: Kulmin to offer small thanks before ignoring him again, and the coach.

"You did good out there", he said, waiting until he was dressed a bit to speak with him.

"Thanks, glad you're not mad at me telling him what to do", he said.

Zarkon laughed for a second, "I'd say it's better for him to get an instruction along with an example, telling rather than showing how to fight can be slow. He actually asked me to tell you he appreciated it, he doesn't want to talk to you too much because of who you're seeing."

"He'll come around, hopefully. Maybe the rest of them will too", he said, looking over at his teammates. They were ignoring him, save for a few that gave a growl, warning him to turn away.

"Either they do, or I'm _benching them_ ", he said those last words a little louder, turning his gaze towards the ones being openly rude.

"Just let me try to have them tolerate me. They don't need to like me, but they do need to get over it enough to be better. If I can help them improve along the way, then all the more beneficial to the whole of the team."

"If you want to try that, fine. Oh, and remember to let me do some coaching, ok sport?", he said, shaking his hand after he got a shirt on.

Sendak took it gladly, "Will do. See you next time, Coach."

 

  
Considering he'd showered at school, he only needed to dress differently for his date. At first, he considered wearing his jacket that had been newly restored to his possession. But now he was looking between that and a different one. In a quick decision, he picked the latter. Nothing was wrong with wearing the school colors, but it reminded him too much of when he faked a date. His parents bid him a goodbye before he left to Shiro's, only a short ten minutes away.

' _Alright, what is he wearing?_ ', he thought to himself before knocking. To answer his own question, Shiro appeared wearing a tight shirt, showing off his figure well.

Sendak stuttered for a second, "Y-you look..."

"Good? Is it good? I don't know if this one is too small on me..", his boyfriend said, now checking how far out it could go.

"No! It's...perfect. You're very..appealing..in a way I shouldn't really say."

Shiro's face turned a deep red, "Oh....thanks. We should go."

"Yeah", Sendak said, internally hitting himself for saying something so stupid.

What was usually a twenty minute walk became forty minutes due to their interest in talking to each other. According to Shiro, his arm wasn't just an easier replacement, it was also equipped for combat should he feel the need. As an example, he went in an alleyway for a second to find a box.

"Ok, this thing is kind of a force to be reckoned with, prepare to have your mind blown."

After a little bit of self-serving compliments, his arm turned a bright pink-purpleish color. Then he cut through the cardboard like it was nothing, putting it back into a normal setting once he'd finished.

"Impressive. But mine could pull me across an arena in a matter of seconds", he said, fiddling with his own metal arm.

Shiro poked him in his stomach, "You're a jerk."

Sendak flicked his boyfriend's ear with one hand, "Only for you."

The cinema was only a few more minutes away, so they picked up their paces. Another factor may have been Sendak remembering that their showing was fifteen minutes away. They did make it in time, fortunately, but a long line further hindered their wait. If anything, he didn't really care about the movie itself, it was more for doing something with Shiro. And his date did seem happy, he hoped, unless he was doing something bad that he hadn't picked up on.

"Hey, this movie we're seeing, it's alright to you?"

Shiro put on a small smile, "I don't know, I've never really been to see galran movies too much. This'll be interesting to see."

"Ok."

He'd chosen to show the human a romantic movie, hearing that genre was popular on Earth. It was overly sappy, entirely too 'lovey-dovey' as others would say. But Shiro wasn't thinking that way, he was crying at the sadder parts of it. Sendak had seen this scenario a dozen times before, one of them gets a fatal disease, and the other one is left to live.

He moved to whisper in Sendak's ear, "This is so sad..", he used the galra's shirt to wipe some tears.

"It's not even over yet, you should keep watching."

It ended with the girl dying, like usual. And the guy was left to be the grieving survivor for the rest of his life. Despite the fact that the movie showed them only dating for a month, that was apparently enough to keep him from chasing anyone else. Shiro thought it a wonderfully heartbreaking tale, Sendak thought it woefully cliched. His boyfriend still cried on the way out, thinking it unfair for the movie to end that way.

"How can they just...do that!", he tearfully said.

"Oh, it was very, very sad. Never been done before", his mind remained unmoved, there wasn't anything original to be seen in that story.

Shiro poked him a few times, "You're heartless."

"Or maybe I don't like something I've essentially already seen."

"I liked it. Even if they gave it that ending, it was good."

Sendak would've refuted that, but someone caught his attention. Coming out of the doors of a different screening was Haxus, along with his cop boyfriend, out of uniform at the moment. The one dating him was built, a tail raised behind him, and certainly handsome to boot. If this was who his friend had skipped school to see, it wasn't a bad deal in life.

"Haxus, hey!", he said, grabbing the galra's attention.

"Sendak, good to see you. Sorry for not talking much at school, you had the same plans as me today?", he wondered, looking surprised at the coincidental meetup.

He pulled Shiro to his side, "Taking my little beauty out."

His boyfriend blushed and angrily pinched him, "Don't say that in public!", he quietly yet firmly stated to the galra breaking free.

Haxus smiled, "That's great. I haven't really been keeping up with everyone lately, what with everything."

Sendak stopped him, "You don't have to talk about it."

"He's a little tired from earlier today, not easy for him to go up to those people again", Haxus's boyfriend said, giving a warning glance to Sendak.

"I didn't mean anything by it, let's just drop it. How about I meet your date?", he held out a hand for Antok, remembering his name from the earlier conversation at school.

The cop shook it with great strength, "Good to meet you. And your name was Sendak, right?"

"Yes, I-", the other galra gave him a quick hug before facing him.

"You helped my prettyboy out, that's good in my book", Haxus was embarrassed to hear that affectionate nickname spoken to them.

Haxus started to tug him away, "We really should get going, he wanted to take me to dinner, far from anyone I know to reveal our pet names to."

"See you around, have fun", he waved him off before getting back to Shiro. His friend looked happy, Antok happier, his tail swishing while he had an arm around Haxus.

Shiro tugged at his boyfriend, "You think they might get married one day?"

"Maybe, they seemed happy enough."

"So..movie's over now. Should we go back to my house?", he asked in a suggestive way.

"Does your mom mind having me over?"

Shiro took him along, "We'll find a way around that. Come on, you'll like her cooking."

So, he was to have dinner at Shiro's, but was that before or after anything. What they would do, he could only imagine to himself. Was it right to be alone in his room? Maybe not. But, if Shiro wanted to, he wouldn't try to stop him. And if he could treat Shiro right in the bed, it might prove himself capable of pleasing him. Or even keeping him in a relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shendaaaaaaaakkkkk, I love it so much


	16. The Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sendak is brought to Shiro's for dinner, but he suspects they're going to do something more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's where the smut tag comes into play again, nsfw warning and all.

"Mom! I'm back!", Shiro shouted to his house as he walked in the door. His father was still at work, probably working a little later but getting off just in time for dinner.

"I'm in the kitchen, how was your date?", she answered back.

He brought Sendak into the kitchen, "I'd say it went well."

She turned from her dishes, "Why are you stomping- Oh. Is he having dinner with us tonight?", she said, a little less warmth in her voice.

"That's why I brought him. That's ok, right?"

She gave her son's boyfriend a cold glance, "Yes. What are your intentions for being here?"

"..To hang out with Shiro?", he said, unsure if that was the right answer.

"You will only, 'hang out'. Shiro, I don't care if you give consent to anything, if you have sex in the house, it's a grounding."

Her son was immediately embarrassed, "Mom! A little less of that talk in front of him!"

"You're both young, I won't pretend you wouldn't try it some time or the other. Don't let it happen here."

"Ok, you know what? Call us for dinner when it's done, we're going upstairs", he dragged his giggling boyfriend along, not too happy to hear he was finding this funny.

 

  
The two entered into his bedroom, one of them possessing a desire to please the other, and one a galra wary of a mother with a knife. His little beauty closed the door, turning to his boyfriend with a dirty smile. So Shiro really did want them to have sex, not that he would hate it but to him it felt a little quick. Still, he wouldn't want to disappoint him much, yet an angry mother still lingered in the back of his mind. 

"We should-", his mate jumped up and kissed him, relying on Sendak to keep him held up. Damn, did Shiro know how to kiss and make a guy melt.

Shiro kissed him a few more times, "Bed", he said, reaching his hands around to feel Sendak's body better. His boyfriend didn't protest it, putting himself on top of the two. He could feel himself grow hornier, his desire to mate rising. Shiro was his, he would make him happy, he would make him smell like himself, the way a galra would treat any of their mates.

He stopped to look at Shiro's door with paranoia in mind, "She's not gonna come up and see you like this, right?"

Shiro ignored him and went back to the kissing. Then he grabbed at the bottom of his shirt, beginning to lift it up. Sendak easily pulled it back down, staring at the human with some fear.

"I'm serious, she'd be capable of barging in with a knife at me."

Shiro shushed him and went to lock his door, evidently he'd been allowed that bit of privacy for himself. And now, he could extend that to his guests as well.

"That should stop her from coming in out of nowhere. Now, back to business", he went back to his fluffy boyfriends shirt to lift it up.

He felt the fur brush on his hands as he lifted it up, so soft against his smooth skin. It was like slowly revealing a beautiful bust, each part of Sendak was a wonder to see. His abs, his fur over his body, his huge chest, and finally the whole image. Shiro had never seen a more handsome fellow than this person in his life.

"I've never felt anyone's chest yet", he moved his hand closer to him, getting his fingers tangled through the fur in front of him. Finally he could feel beneath them, a hard muscle there, it felt nice. Suddenly he felt a hand touch his chest, feeling it all over as well.

"I've never felt a human's chest before", he said, staring into his eyes.

The two connected again, Sendak putting himself over Shiro for the second time that day. His regular arm hugged under Shiro, careful in holding him so his claws wouldn't scratch or stab. The fur against him, it made the human's body flare up in more than one way. Sendak couldn't help himself either, his excitement grew into Shiro's body. Neither of them minded, they only continued to adventure through the other's mouth. It was a strange taste, a galran mouth, but Shiro wanted more of it on his tongue. Sendak only took this as an indicator to get a little rough in his kiss, making Shiro gasp.

"Fuck, you're so hot", Shiro couldn't help but stop him to say that.

Sendak rubbed his face, "How hot do you think I am?"

Shiro laughed, "If it helps your ego, I think your an 11 on a scale of 10."

Sendak spoke his next words closely, "You'd be a 12 then."

Shiro smiled, pulling his lover down again. The two of them were eager, but neither of them did anything immediately. Both were well aware of the other's crotch pressed closely, but one of them had to go further. Sendak certainly wasn't going to start it, he would face the wrath of Shiro's mother for doing that. That left only one option.

Shiro found himself slipping under Sendak, curious to find what was under those pants of his. Sendak didn't know what to think, his mind screamed danger of the human's mother, but his desires yelled in delight from this. His pants finally got down to the leg, leaving only underwear stretching farther outwards. Sendak was well endowed, Shiro could tell. He was about to open up that little crack in the underwear before Sendak stopped him.

"You and I could get in serious trouble for this. Are you even ready?", both were well aware of the pain he could cause.

"I'm ready, or at least ready as I can be. This'll be interesting to see."

The dick came through the crack of the underwear. It was an absolute beast, it's length, it's thickness, Shiro thought himself lucky to find someone with a big one. It was close in looks to a human penis, the main difference being Sendak's triangular head, it's bright purple color, and of course it's size. His first thought was to taste it, but then he would probably mess up a blowjob. That left one easy and universally used method. His hand stroked it slowly, Sendak wincing at the grip but loving the touch.

"You're good at that", Sendak smiled and rubbed Shiro's muscles, enjoying the human's soft touch.

"Lots of practice when you don't have someone", his hand gripped it easier, making it's way around most of the girth.

Sendak did a quiet laugh, then pressed his human against him. The two were content that way, he had even begun to purr from the treatment. Shiro's pants still hadn't slipped off, so Sendak took the opportunity to unzip them and throw them to the side. Surprisingly, Shiro's underwear had a considerable length to it as well. He dragged the underwear down his pants, looking at the dick springing up from it.

"You're pretty big for a human", he said, using his regular hand to touch it.

Shiro let out a quiet moan, " _Oh fuck_ , I should've dated someone sooner."

Soon they were both in their own slow pace on stroking each other. Sendak didn't come over to his house wanting to have sex, but this was still a welcome outcome. As for Shiro, he was loving every minute of doing this. Touching himself was nice, but having someone else do it for him was even better. Sendak's hand felt good, a strong grip, but not too much, just enough to rub the right way.

"You're sexy as hell, you know that right?", Shiro looked directly in his eyes.

"Well, I wouldn't just make myself big and strong for nothing. I kinda wanna know what you taste like."

 

  
Shiro moved up to kiss him, which he took well. His tongue felt great, as always. Sendak broke away to move onto his neck, licking him there. It made him shudder, the feeling of it against his skin. Then the galra started leaving marks, sucking into the skin of his lover, even nipping a few times at him. Sweat ran down his own forehead, as well as the rest of his body, surely the fur from his partner was catching it. But then Sendak moved down, closer to his lover's cock. He knelt at the foot of the bed, positioning his head in front of the human's crotch.

"I meant what this tastes like, but hey, I got to mark you", his mouth moved closer to it.

As soon as Sendak took his cock in his lips, Shiro's mouth opened wider for his breaths. His tongue felt rough against his skin, it hurt a little, but it felt intensely great as well. He was only treating the head of him, but then he took the shaft in. Shiro almost jumped up from the feeling of it, his body shaking with delight, his breathing becoming short. Sendak noticed it and stopped to make sure he was ok.

"You sure you're alright with this?"

Shiro nodded and sat up, "Keep doing that, you're good."

Sendak smiled and resumed his business, Shiro remained sat up. He smiled and closed his eyes a little, this felt like heaven. The way his tongue wrapped around it as he sucked, the rough feeling of it, so uncomfortably good. His partner was purring, enjoying the slightly salty taste in a little slit on the head. His human was shaking more, so he held a hand behind his back to calm him. His teeth lightly scraped against the underside of his cock, making Shiro wince a little, but he enjoyed it.   
He put his hands on his larger ears, stroking them gently. Just below them was a sensitive spot, Shiro started scratching there. Sendak really liked being touched that way, his head turning a little with it. He stopped his blowing to get in a better position for himself, he loved being pet there.

"More, scratch more, I need you to", he closed his eyes and sat his chin against Shiro's leg, completely ignoring Shiro's cock.

Shiro laughed and continued to scratch. Sendak's throat rumbled against his leg, his purr felt good. His cock lost a bit of it's erection, but he didn't mind. The way Sendak smiled was good enough. He even rubbed Shiro's legs as a form of returning it, feeling at his muscles. It felt good to have someone admire his body, touching it out of impression. He moved his hand across Sendak's face, his fingers scratching against his cheeks. He felt at the fur poking from either side of it, enjoying it's feeling.

"You're the perfect guy, I swear", he used his thumb to rub Sendak's nose.

"I'm not perfect. I was an asshole, I shouldn't even be doing this with you..", his voice was unusually sad.

Shiro used his arms to try and pull him up, this was a heavy galra. Sendak knew what he was doing and moved up with him, he was over Shiro again. His guilt had sprung up in this moment, he couldn't help but sadly frown.

"Hey, look at me", Shiro .

Sendak saw a beautiful human, one he didn't deserve. He turned his head away, but a hand slowly made him look back.

"I want this, only with you. I read up on how this works, galran's like to mark their partner's body during sex. You already did that, and I don't mind. I want to be yours, I want people to see how I'm yours. Even if you're a bit of a dick sometimes, I want you."

Sendak closed his eyes and held Shiro, "I don't want to hurt you, not now, not ever again."

Shiro rubbed his furry back, "You won't, and I'm sure it would be an accident if you did."

"Shiro, I really like being around you, even feeling you. I don't want to change that", he kissed Shiro for a second.

"I do too. And if you're willing, one day I could even say I love you", he scratched under his chin.

Shiro put them together again, not an intense kiss, but a normal one. Whatever feelings his boyfriend had a moment ago vanished, now focused on their growing erections. It seemed galran hormones were easy to flare up. He rubbed his crotch against him, his cock pressing tightly against the larger one. It was in the moment he got an idea. A galran dick would be big, and it might hurt, but maybe they could ease it into him.

"If we're doing this, you're the one in charge, right?", he said, looking up at his partner's face, lost in lust.

"I can be whatever you want me to be", he spoke quietly.

"Take me then", he wanted him, he didn't care how, just that he wanted him. His smell, his fur up on his body, all his to enjoy. And take him he did, Sendak caressing him so lovingly, so longingly, like he'd been waiting to feel him. But he didn't just want Shiro for sex, he just wanted to touch him close and kiss, anything else was just part of the intimacy.

"I might hurt you", he said, starting to line him up, some pre-cum already acting as a bit of lubricant.

"Cover my mouth, I'll probably scream", he said, he could stop any time he wanted to, but he let the galra push him in. There was a little resistance at first, but then it broke into him. Well, not exactly breaking, but the way it stretched him was unbearably painful. He'd never grimaced like he had then, and like he predicted, he screamed a little into the galra's hand. It hurt worse than hell, but it was marvelously satisfying to his desires. Too large, too wrong to be put in him, but so right anyway.

"Is this too much?", he asked, wiggling his cock a little inside him.

"Fuck you", Shiro gritted out of the hand, his own cock leaking each time the galra moved around him, getting so close to a spot he'd researched. Just another inch, just one and-

" _Ahhhhh!_ ", he shouted into his hand, Sendak smiled and rubbed his body again. The pain was neverending, but so was his pleasure from it. He wanted to sit up with him, ride him maybe, or maybe Sendak would raise him in order to break him.

"I don't need to lay here...sit up with me..", he said, careful not to kick him.

"I'll have to put it back in you, not easy to switch like that", the galra said, "are you sure you don't want to stay like this?", he pushed deep in him, Shiro had never resisted such a great urge to moan.

"I don't...ow!", he got himself free, "care. You can fuck me while I look at you."

Sendak sat at the foot of the bed, "Come to me."

Shiro wrapped his legs around in preparation, "Come in me", he said, they both quietly laughed.

"A little dirty, but I'll see what I can do", he said, pushing in him. Again, Shiro had to shut himself up, which he did in Sendak's shoulder. The galra didn't care, he was slowly taking it along, so slow, so casual, so good to him. He was purring, saying quiet, barely rendered things to him. 'Perfection' was one he might've heard, if not for getting fucked out of his mind without Sendak even trying. If only he could find, yes! His prostate, he hit it again, and again, and again...

"You really like that, don't you?", he said, Shiro was letting some spit run down the fur. To return the favor, he ran his tongue along his neck, his shoulder, anywhere it's long length would lick across. Shiro moaned quietly, he wanted to be louder, but neither of them could risk the discovery. Sendak's tongue felt so rough, so taboo, he loved it too much to make him stop. For a second, he wanted to stay that way, hugging into him and feeling his fur, but something was missing. He needed to feel something more, loving and intimate for the two.

"Hey...let me look at you..", he said, readjusting his head just to see him. Sendak was still going slow, so gentle even if it felt like it was destroying him. That wasn't destroying him, the lack of a kiss was, feeling that beautiful face against his own. He fixed that, kissing him so smoothly, passionately. How did he manage to begin...loving him? Who was he kidding, he'd wanted this for a long time. As much as he told himself he didn't, deep down, during all those weeks leading up to this, he ached to hold him just as lovingly.

Sendak purred louder, he even gave Shiro a little drag across the neck with a single claw. Just enough to give a sensual itch, but leaving him wanting it to really show. In that instant, with Sendak continuing his delicately dangerous touch, he came. He hadn't meant it, it just happened. He had to moan into his fur again, the burst leaving felt like heaven, amplified by the cock still in him.

"I'm sorry...", he said, it felt good, but he didn't mean to do it so early.

"You're fine", Sendak said, rubbing his back, even bringing some of it up to taste it.

"Hmm...salty", he declared, glad to know human's wouldn't taste terrible in that aspect.

"That's gross..", he said, all too aware he was getting excited again. Sendak noticed it too, pressing it's length up against his fur.

"This time I'll come with you", he said, pushing up on the prostate.

" _Fuck_...not too soon...", he said.

"I might have to. You still have dinner", he was going a little faster, but not too much for discomfort.

"Fuck me good, don't rush it along..", Shiro said, the agony still there, but the feeling of pure love rising.

"I won't be early, or too late, just the right amount", he said, licking around his ear after he was finished. Shiro didn't have to do anything, scratching his ears maybe, that certainly helped before. And when he did, Sendak growled him off of doing that, telling him not to make him too excited. So brutish, but so dominating, he wanted something deeper.

"Make me yours, mark me, bite me, whatever you want..", he told him, uncaring if there would be pain from the teeth or the claws.

"I'll do anything but make you bleed", he said, slowing down again, rubbing his head against Shiro's neck.

"Then bite me however softly you can- _Mmmmggaaahhhh_ ", he took the suggestion while he was riding him. Sendak's teeth were mostly normal, but his fang teeth, so dangerously sharp, so close to breaking into him. The way he just grazed him, the tease was all at once enough and yet it left him wanting. He pleaded, even begged it out, 'mark me..', he whispered into him. But the galra wasn't going further, he laughed and kept leaving marks enough for the teeth, nothing that would last forever.

"I said I wouldn't seriously hurt you", he told him, thrusting into him again, he only just managed to cover Shiro's scream, "except when I'm inside you, you're gonna need help walking."

"Sh-shut up and keep going..", he said, kissing his cheeks, begging again, this time for the licking. Sendak moved his head down a little, starting at a nipple, Shiro whining at the feeling of it. That rough tongue, moving over the tip of them. He even sucked at one, Shiro never realized how much he wanted him too. Then he bit them, Shiro simultaneously cried and moaned, the sensitivity of it was more than he could usually handle.

"I'm tempted to keep going, but that'd just end it early", he said. The next bit of time went that way, a few minutes of licking, near-piercing biting, Shiro petting him while he did that, and overall pleasure. The both of them were close, so close now, even Sendak was going faster, growling a little at him. If he didn't slow down, and if he kept fucking him so deeply, so professionally, pushing him ever closer...

"Sh-shit, I'm gonna...", Sendak pushed their lips together, shoving him deep Shiro felt a nearly burning hot substance enter him. So hot and filling, little room in his human body, it leaked out. The feeling of Sendak breeding him, it was too much to take in. The giant cock, his galran sexual delights, his gentle/rough methods, he came again. Longer than the last time, and somehow more jizz. He needed to breathe, away from Sendak, but hugging him would be fine.

 

They were both needy for an embrace, to rest a little, to hold each other like they wouldn't let go. Even as they kissed they became exhausted, just letting their breaths warm each other. Shiro liked the smell of his breath, Sendak thought his boyfriend could use a toothbrush. But he didn't care much, he just liked feeling him against his body. His purr seemed to be a favorite of Shiro's, he was glad he enjoyed the sound.

"Sendak...", he said to him, turning in his ear, letting himself breathe a bit before he spoke.

"What?", he said, purring for him, still inside him but not as erect.

"I love you...", he said, maybe he was high from the thrill of it, but there was some truth in his words.

"I love you too", the galra said, licking his face slowly, not meant to tickle, only affection for his love.

"We only just started dating, should I wait to say that?", he pet his fur a little, Sendak rubbing in return.

"I don't know. I never really dated anyone. I screwed on my own time, but I never attached myself. Thing is, if they were a no go, I would just move on, but with you I..kept going."

"Kept going for me. An alien to you, insignificant otherwise, small, just big enough to have sex with-"

"You're not just for sex. We didn't need to do this right now, I would still like you", something about him looked uncomfortable. Unknown to Shiro, even if the human was joking, Sendak was beginning to hate his reputation of getting around. He could date someone if he wanted to, sex was certainly a part of it, but it wasn't his only trait. Shiro hadn't meant to make him look that way, so a hug would fix that.

"If I said anything, let me know", he kissed his cheek.

"You're not a plaything, I won't use you and toss you aside when I'm bored. Not that I would get bored, just that...I'm not like I was. I'm taking this as serious as the time I put into even getting a hint of love from you", he didn't rub Shiro, preferring to hold him, everything was alright, the quiet time with just each other a good way to spend their night.

"What time is it?", Sendak asked. 

Shiro turned his alarm clock, it read 8:45. "It's already dark outside, pull up my blanket and stay the night."

"But your mom-"

"I don't care, I like you. I probably do love you. Maybe."

Sendak didn't smile right then, but soon he grinned as he kissed Shiro's head.

"Well I do love you."

He sat up for a minute to get Shiro's blanket over the two. His bed wasn't exactly a good fit for two people, but since Shiro was putting himself under Sendak, they functioned as one person (sort of). The blanket covered the both of them thoroughly, leaving only their shoulders exposed to the rest of the room. Sendak put his arms around Shiro's stomach and purred a little, holding him softly while they went to sleep.

 

  
An hour later, Shiro's mother came to check on the two. She tried to turn the handle, it shook a little from side to side. And why did her son lock the door? Maybe that's why he was still up there well into a half hour after she had called for them to come down. She brought a key out of her pocket, unlocking the door to catch the two in the act.

There certainly had been an act, but they were past it, and were currently fast asleep. Their clothes were strung about around Shiro's bed, evidently they didn't care about the "No sex in her house" rule. The sound of the door and the light might've woke others, but neither of them stirred from their snoozing. She shook her head and closed the door on the two, walking back downstairs to put everything left over into the fridge.

"Oh to be young and stupid again", she muttered to herself, dragging some imported potatoes into tupperware.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now they're bonded together, Shiro has a weird idea about how soon to take things.


	17. The News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The repercussions of spending a night together are faced for the happy couple. But is there something else shadowing over their future together?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm late with the update, and I apologize. I was exhausted yesterday and didn't feel like doing much once I got home.

The next morning light spilled in from Shiro's window, digging through the cracks in their eyes. Shiro stirred a little next to his boyfriend, tugging the furry arm closer to his body. Sendak looked around and didn't see his pants anywhere, meaning his phone was missing, and it was unlocked to boot. The galran managed to rouse his human enough to wake up, he sat up with a grumpy frown. Shiro didn't see his clothes anywhere either, but forgot about that for a second to turn towards his partner.

"Good morning..", he said, yawning with his greeting.

"It would be, if I could find my pants. Why do you have clothes folded on your desk?", he had noticed two different sets of clothes near them.

"I don't remember folding....well shit", he said, remembering his mother.

"I'm guessing she knows then?", Sendak said, getting himself up.

"Probably. Hey, stay there for a second."

Sendak sat still, though he really wanted to wash off and get some breakfast. Shiro started rubbing his back, brushing the fur downwards. Sendak smiled and scratched his head, purring from the free back massage.

"You're so pretty in the sunlight", he admired the way his fur shined.

"Would look better with a shower, if you wanna hop in, I can wash you too."

"You want to touch me? My naked body? Scandalous behaviour", he gave him a little pat before grabbing his clothes.

"Just gonna get that dried...stuff off of you."

"It has a name, but it is a gross thing to think about. Can't believe I slept like this..", he didn't want to think about how they just let themselves be dirty. And how they cleaned up, it wasn't something to talk about due to how...gross, it was. Besides that, they did feel fresh after a shower. They slowly crept down the stairs, careful of anyone around, Shiro moved to open the door as quietly as he could.

"DON'T even think about it. Both of you, kitchen table, now", his mother said, pointing with her spatula.

"So much for sneaking you out..", he said freely, walking past her with an also freely worn glare.

"Your father will deal with this."

 

Shiro's step-dad was sat across from the table, setting his newspaper down to inspect Sendak better. Neither of them had seen much of each other, what with Shiro being absent almost completely at the hospital. He'd seen he was a galra before, but now he really paid attention to him. He wasn't very furry, he was one of the smaller types, one that would be a ship guard for example. He had some facial hair, though it was all primarily on his chin. That didn't mean he didn't have any hair on top, it was short and shaved on the sides.

"So, both of you decided to disobey her..", he declared.

"Dad, he didn't-"

"He didn't take off his clothes?", he interrupted, "You can clean up whatever stains you made, adult choices means adult consequences."

Sendak tried easing him, "Sir, I never hurt him. If I did anything wrong, I made sure he could tell me to stop something."

"So you admit to screwing then. Better than lying, still sleazy to do it not even a few days after you started dating him."

"Yes, dad. He fucked me, and I liked it", both Sendak and Shiro's mother made a tense face when he said that, neither eager to discuss it to a private party.

"Well, since you're so blunt, I'll be that way too. You think you're making a difference by doing this? What did getting fucked show exactly? How. In. The. Universe. Are. You. Changed?", he tapped a finger hard to articulate the question.

"I spent the night with someone I like, no, someone I _love_ , so that has to count for something."

"Bah! 'I love him' this, 'I only dated him less than a week' that, what do you know about loving someone? Better question, do you really believe he loves you? You very well may be his latest one-date, one-night stander, I wouldn't put it-"

"Don't you _dare_ say that I would treat him like that! I've been a bastard, but the only thing I want to do now is spend time with him! You can keep bitching about it or shut the hell up!", Sendak breathed deeply for a few seconds, the rest of them speechless for half a minute, until Shiro's mother broke the uneasy air left by the guest.

"You certainly needed to yell to get that across, and I know you considered that I had the window's open. No need to explain to anyone, I'll do it since I'm the one who lives here."

"I...I didn't mean to get so angry, I just need to control it. Don't ignore what I said, everytime I look at Shiro, even now, he can make me happy even if I'm in the worst situation. And I hope to make him happy too, he's different, so much more unique and special", he looked at him, Shiro was smiling back at his boyfriend, he'd never been spoken of in such a high regard.

"Hmm. I'll believe that when I see it. Your parents stopped by earlier to give me some clothes, and to give permission for you to stay for breakfast. Here's this", she set his phone next to him, and then a plate of food.

"We're all going to eat, and we're going to be happy. Your parents can tell you off themselves, and we'll be here to ground our son", she ate some bacon while her son said a 'What!'.

"Don't 'what' her, she warned you. Have some food, she paid a lot for real earth chicken eggs. And a very good result", he said to her with a wink. She softly chided him for making her blush in front of guests, but otherwise the breakfast went civilly.

 

  
When the food was done with, she boxed the left-overs and gave the two a talk. A box of condoms said enough on it's own, they didn't need to hear what they already knew. Especially since neither of them had any diseases to share with the other, both clean of harmful or permanent one's. Specific details and instructions were worse, along with a demonstration involving a banana. Shiro awkwardly thanked her for it, then quickly walked his boyfriend out to see him away before he had to deal with his parents.

"So, see you at school?", he knelt down a little to Shiro's head level.

"Yeah", he said, hugging his neck to bring him in better. 

Sendak licked his face a few times, others wouldn't have seen it since he faced the house, but they would've heard Shiro. But he had places to go, and Shiro had a room to occupy as punishment. He thought about that adorable human, what their future would be like, his house wasn't too far now. When he walked inside, his parents were waiting in the living room. Neither of them looked very angry, just disappointed in their son causing trouble again.

"I hope he's not just someone else for you to leave", his father said, harsh when he wasn't prompted to be.

"I didn't sleep with him for a quick lay, we both took it as loving, rather than, y'know, screwing."

His mother spoke so sadly, "I've seen you ditch people, don't tell me you're going to ditch him too."

"No, I'm not. I've had a lot of people analyze me, for justified reasons, but please, just this time, believe me when I say that I love him. Our relationship feels like it's been going on longer, I'm lucky to get him, after all I did. I'm putting effort into this."

His father sighed, "I don't usually talk like this, but knowing the circumstances, don't fuck this up."

"I..won't. Have some faith."

"Fine. Now, knowing what you did behind our backs, go to your room", he said, his mother pointing along with him.

"When do I come out?", he asked just before shutting it.

"Around dinner, we'll call you. And you'll stay there so long as you're not in school or going to practice", she said, moving into the kitchen to prepare a meal.

 

His weekend was spent trying to nap or just getting into the wi-fi. They changed the password, a few hours spent guessing the code before he gave up and grabbed a book. Yeesh, his small collection hadn't been updated in a few years, some of this was designed for younger audiences, fourteen-year old age range specifically. But he read them, he was bored and couldn't use his phone without charging himself money. His mother gave him some books on request, he was surprised how he hadn't found them interesting before, but now they were the world. He hardly noticed the time going by, even reading his books up to walking through his school's doors. He also had a little surprise for his smaller human, one that would hopefully be accepted now.

Shiro smiled when he saw Sendak nearer, "Hey handsome."

"I brought you something", he said, a familiar bag of books from all that time ago in his hand.

"You still kept those things?", he took the bag and opened them, one by one.

Each one had a personal apology note, along with what Sendak liked about him. His looks, his smile, his friendly attitude, his dedication to his health, finally the way he made his heart melt. He laughed at them, glad to be reading them now rather than when he might've been creeped out. In the last book, the one that was free from any tearing, there was a paper folded on the inside. A drawing of Shiro, more than a rough sketch, it wasn't half-bad but he took it as more than that.

"You drew me again, I think I prefer the finished look."

Sendak leaned an arm against the locker next to Shiro's, "Do you like it?"

"I love it. It looks good", he folded it and stuffed it away into a side pocket.

"What are you two talking about?", said a voice they knew, Mizal. She noticed some marks on Shiro's neck, scratches? Not just any regular ones, long and wide, from a claw, just deep enough to leave a mark for a short time.

She squinted her eyes, "..How did you get those?"

Shiro brought up his shirt a little, "I don't know what you mean."

"Did you-"

*Ring*

"I'll talk to you guys at lunch", Shiro told them, going down past a few doors to his class.

Sendak went to his own studies, that being alien math classes. To his benefit, Shiro's tutoring propelled him to a select few that were at the top of the class. Now he could almost instantly learn something, if not right then, later at lunch with Shiro's help. Nearing the end of the year, they were doing a recap of the material in preparation for a test. He knew it all, how to work with-

*"Sendak Rilkin to the office please"*

Ok, so he wouldn't be in for the entire class. He quickly went along, wanting to deal with whatever they wanted and get back to his studying. Upon entering they signalled him to go into the principal's office. Once there, he saw his coach sitting next to the principal, both with a grave look on their face.

"Did I do something wrong?", he asked them.

"On the contrary, you did something right. You've been offered a scholarship at a university, one well known for taking the very best for sporting", Zarkon said.

Sendak's face lit up, "You mean... _Yustekine?_ "

Zarkon nodded, "The very same. It's a privelege to be offered, but before you consider an answer, you must understand the requirements they have."

Sendak sat down, "I'm listening."

"Given how the news spread about your fight with Myzax, many schools took notice of your fighting prowess. Even more lined up when they found out you were officially allowed to play in a league again. Your G.P.A. isn't quite the highest, but it's just past the minimum they accept for anyone playing for the school. But, knowing Yustekine, you'll have to focus entirely on both your studies and practicing. Not all the professors there do it, but I know a few that like to give an assignment to be worked on and completed over any breaks they do give you. And knowing how they look for the best in the arena, you're expected to exercise as much as you can."

It sounded great, but where did that leave..."Shiro....", he said, once realizing that he would have to choose between his love or his future.

"Yes, I don't mean any offense, but he's a snag in this. He's been offered a scholarship too, one that puts him across the country. You would have to be in a long-term relationship, which in my experience, fizzles in either a year or even shorter."

"He...he can go to mine, he's good enough for them, right?", the best he could do was hope he was right.

"Unfortunately he doesn't quite reach their standard, earlier in the year his G.P.A. dropped considerably, and it hasn't quite recovered yet, despite most of what we forgave....", the words drifted out of focus. Sendak stared down, thinking about the devastating choice. The noise was there, but he wasn't taking the words in. He just got into a relationship, and now it was either the human he loved or his dream.

"..ink about your future. Sendak? Are you listening?", the principal said.

"Yeah...I just....I'll think about it. See you at practice, coach", he shook his hand, quickly getting back to class. 

 

 

He couldn't focus on anything, his teacher continually corrected him or snapped him back into focus. Given that he'd started focusing more on homework it was highly unusual for him to get distracted, even moreso when he kept getting reminders to pay attention throughout his morning. When the lunch bell came he didn't go to lunch, he just walked outside. And he kept walking, on and on until he got home, his mother surprised at how early he was.

"Sendak? Sweetie? What's wrong, why are you home so early?", she asked, he ignored, going straight to his room.

*Knock, knock* "Can you talk to me? I don't-", her phone rang, she answered within a few seconds. "Yes...yes, he's here. Thank you for your concern, you too, bye", he heard a beep, then the click of his door opening. She sat next to him and wiped at his eyes, he was crying? Apparently too out of it to notice, but he appreciated her motherly assistance.

"Why did you leave school?", she asked.

"I got a scholarship, to Yustekine. Shiro can't go, either I would be caught up in school, or he would be across the country."

"What? Can't he-"

"No, he can't. Because my fucking stupid self decided to fuck with him earlier in the year, he stopped doing his schoolwork, and now his G.P.A. is lower than what Yustekine wants. It's all my fault, even when I get a relationship, it all just crashes down..", the tears came again, this time he paid attention to them. His mother pulled him into a hug, like that mattered. He didn't push her away, but this wasn't going to solve anything. She didn't punish him for coming home, but she did say he wouldn't be so easily forgiven the next time he did it.

His phone lit up, a few new messages from Shiro on display:

**3:30 PM: Sendak? Didn't see you at lunch, is this about the school thing?**

**3:35 PM: Sendak, please talk to me, I don't want you to feel alone :(**

**4:00 PM: I don't like this either, ok? It's not easy for me. I need you to talk with me..**

Another one popped up, he powered his phone down. He wouldn't be talking to anyone, not for a while. He needed to take a few days away, from anyone, for himself.   
What would he do, what would he do, what would he do....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah.....things aren't looking so great. I promise this much, they will have a happy ending when the time comes to it.


	18. The Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sendak contemplates what to do, until someone shows up to help him figure out his plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late update again, I apologize but here it is. I had some trouble on how to get this one out, I didn't expect it to delay so long. It's not something I'm really proud of as a chapter, but it's been so long since an update and it's better than just abandoning a story I intend to finish.

Sendak sat alone in his room for the fifth day in a row. It was a weekend, no school to miss besides the past few days he'd skipped out upon. His mother tried her best to encourage him to go back, but he convinced her to let him simmer down a little about the news. He didn't want anyone to bother him, so whenever his mother knocked to tell about a visitor he bunkered down and refused to see them. If he wasn't laying in the bed, he was silently reading for himself. That didn't make much of a difference, he did  _read_ the pages, but he didn't take any of the information in.

Eventually he grew tired of forcing himself to go through page after page of a novel he no longer cared for, and grabbed a pencil to sketch with. Even that failed him, he found himself losing the knowledge of drawing shapes, anatomy of a body, losing memory of the boyfriend he loved, not even able to draw from an object as a reference. It resulted into him throwing a tantrum via tossing the sketchbook at his wall, he hoped it didn't make too much noise. If he wasn't able to have much comfort in his home, he would find it in the natural world around him.

His well-worn hoodie lied at the foot of his bed, folded on the frame for later use. It only took him a second to put it on, but sneaking out his window would take a careful step. He slowly undid the locks, sliding it up half an inch every five seconds until it was open enough for him to fit through. Lucky for him nothing was on the other side, lest he alerted anyone by falling into a bush. Just as carefully he slid the window shut until fully closed, his mother didn't try coming into his room during his escapade so it didn't worry him much. Still, he took a route just going by his house for fear of her seeing him through her window.

He went by the side of the house where the curtains were always closed, going through a neighbors backyard to avoid the sidewalk in front. For good measure he went through another backyard, until he was sure his mother couldn't possibly see him walking away. With that he went on with his method of something to do, hoping it would help him break out of his tired out patterns. It helped a little, getting fresh air gave him a sense of renewal, purity in breathing normal air. Perhaps he could visit Shiro, he wasn't far from him at all. Instead of going towards town like usual, he turned left towards his boyfriends house.

 _'Sure hope he doesn't hate me',_ he thought as he saw the house come into view. For a moment he contemplated whether he should even walk up to the door, but then he took his first step and kept going. Then he hesitated to even knock, afraid of Shiro's mother with a knife in revenge for Sendak practically abandoning his boyfriend. Then he knocked a few times and forgot his superstition. Fortunately it was his boyfriend that answered, though the look on his face wasn't too far off from the icy reception his mother often gave to him.

"You abandon school, you begin throwing away your life, and you don't even talk to me?", Shiro wasn't quite shouting, but he was close to it.

Sendak struggled to excuse himself, "I'm sorry, I should've talked to you, you would've done it if-"

"If what? If I had to choose between my life or my boyfriend? I wouldn't just give up like you! I don't like this either! The sad truth is that when it comes down to it, I don't want to hold you back."

"You're breaking up with me?", Sendak's ears curled back a little.

"No...not yet. I just won't date you once the time comes for you to go to Yustekine. You have been amazing to me, and you'll keep being amazing, but I can't just screw up your chances at being a professional athlete", he grabbed Sendak's hand.

"But I want to be with you..", he feebly responded, moving his fingers around the smaller hand.

"I do too, but you have to think about your future. I can't weigh you down, I don't want to make you love someone that can't stick around for you.."

"If I love you, then I'll give up Yustekine."

At that Shiro faintly chuckled, shedding a few tears at Sendak's suggestion on how to fix it. That wasn't in the cards however, and he wanted Sendak to get the most out of life, his galra wouldn't succeed by latching onto a human.

"It's what you've always dreamed of, don't let it scamper away just because you were hung up on a high school romance", he let go of Sendak's hand, slowly shutting the door to contemplate his own future.

Then the galra pulled the door from his grip, swinging it open to grab Shiro up to a kiss. The last hope, the final plan to convince his human to keep the two together. But despite Shiro returning the kiss, he still had to get back to thinking of how to let him go on his own. He broke away, gave a small smile, then asked to be put down.

"I'll see you at school, don't turn them down, ok?", he said, giving one last bright look before shutting the door on the galra.

Sendak sighed, "Damn it."

 

Come the following weekday, he actually showed up for his classes. He saw Shiro, who seemed to be ignoring him for the moment to focus on talking to Mizal. He would've tried to grab his attention, but then he remembered what he needed to go to the coach for. He had only a few minutes before class, and coach's office was across the school, so he walked a little fast and apologized if he had to brush past people. He was in there to his fortune, good thing too since he only had a minute and a half.

"Coach!", he said, making the man sputter out a bit of his drink.

"Try not to sneak up on me like that. What is it?", he wiped a bit of his chin off.

"I'll go to Yustekine", at that the coach beamed a little.

"Good choice. I'll get back in touch with them, they can discuss it with you and be their own judge for how well you do", he shook Sendak's grateful hand, then the bell rang and his star athlete suddenly looked like he stepped in yupper-shit.

"Ah sh-....shoot", he was glad to catch the slip, though still disgruntled at being late.

"Get yourself to class, not good to have a bad record before getting into University", coach put his gaze back to his digital pad.

Though the teacher wasn't happy he was late, and he received a write-up, Sendak still remained just a little optimistic. For Shiro. Yustekine was so close, but he still couldn't imagine himself without his boyfriend there to help him through. They could've stayed up late studying with each other, maybe the occasional kiss to let the other know they still remembered their love. Still, what better (or worse) way to remind him that reality almost never worked how someone wanted it to. Not unless they intentionally sabotaged themselves, which he knew Shiro would hate for him to do.

"Back from your vacation, freak?", a close by jock spat out.

"If you want, I can ask that I be partnered with you in sparring. I'm sure after sitting on the bench 80% of the time that you know how to down a 7'5 opponent."

"That supposed to scare me?", the other teen said a bit mockingly.

"Here's what'll happen, you fight me, you lose. You get up, you lose again. And again, and again, and so on, and just as a final touch, you'll have been beaten by "one of the faggots". That's what I am, right?", he quietly said, pretending to read while keeping the conversation.

"You're not the only strong one on the team, dipshit. Coach says I got a real shot at going pro."

"You wanna go pro? You can't be an ass like this, ever. You see how fast the media catches that shit? How fast schools do? The instant they see you bashing someone else, you're _done_. No second chances, no leftover fans after a half-hearted apology, you'll be forced to work in some mediocre job for the rest of your life", Sendak turned a page as he quietly spoke.

"How would you know? After what you told us to do, you got off scot-free!"

"Actually, I-"

"Sendak and Qatux, would you consider the rest of the class and  _my_ time before you start petty arguments!", the teacher sternly said, the rest of the class laughing a little at the two caught squabbling.

"Sorry, sir", Sendak said, focusing back on his work.

After his morning classes he caught up with his friends at lunch. It wasn't a particularly good meal, though with high school lunches they never amounted to anything more than mediocre at best. He didn't like the meat on them, it never tasted right and he swore they used fake ingredients as a cheap substitution. But he wouldn't worry about that much, he was more excited to talk to his friends than he was to eat crappy meals.

"So.....should I tell them?", he asked his boyfriend.

Shiro cracked his knuckles, "Let me start a drum-roll", his fingers tapped against the table, not really much effort but he wasn't trying for that.

"Apparently, and this isn't anything set in stone yet, Yustekine is interested in having me play for them", the table was pleasantly surprised at the news, a few congratulating him on the opportunity.

Shiro playfully shook his boyfriend, "My pro-athlete giant!", he quietly said, a few students noticing Sendak being rocked about.

"That's great! Shiro's going with you, right?", Ayka said aloud, he didn't know how to break it to them well.

"He's...."

"Not going to the same school", Shiro said for him.

Haxus stabbed into some salad, "Ah, so you found out and went absent for a few days to think on it. Sorry to hear that, you probably wouldn't keep dating, right?"

The two awkwardly looked between the other, that probably said enough for any questions. Suddenly the mood seemed a little more depressing, though it was for the best they found out then instead of a more inappropriate time.

 

After school there was a bit of brief excitement from the girls, Haxus's boyfriend had arrived as a surprise. It still shocked them to see their height difference, though it was amusing to obseve Antok's tail annoyingly brush around him. Though not everyone found it good, Sendak saw a few other jocks look on with pure spite. The only one that didn't was Kulmin, trying to ignore not only Haxus's boyfriend, but oddly the jocks too. In his mind, Sendak hoped that he'd planted the seeds of acceptance within his team. Realistically, only time would tell if that were the case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a note for the comments, I'll try and respond to you in thanks for commenting on the story. And if there's a certain someone that I disagree with, I'll try and be more professional in declining them. Feel free to comment if you want to, I do appreciate them since they let me know what I'm doing right or wrong.


	19. The Tournament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sendak gets a chance to show off his reputation, though briefly, and he faces a challenge when put up against an opponent who doesn't act on normal traditions of fighting. He'll have to put his life on the line if he ever hopes of impressing athletic scouts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey uhhhhhhh, late updates can mean a few months, riiiiiite? Anyways I"m sorryyyyyyyy, here's another chapter and I'm working on the next one, which will be pretty much just fluffy shendak because I'm sorry about the delays and that crap.

Sendak moped inside the locker room, his other teammates ignoring him or glad to see him down on such an occasion. The final game, one they fought hard to rise up to, was finally upon them. Even with that he still couldn't take his mind off Shiro, he would never see him again. They could remain friends but never more, and he would hate to constantly desire a return to a relationship buried in the ground.

His uniform felt tighter, extra protection since these games held a no-holds barred rule. A particularly controversial rule was the allowance of lethality. It was rare, only allowed as a last line of defense, and on the chance that it happened it would spark up the debate to put certain restrictions in the fights. If Shiro wasn't used to these on Earth then seeing it couldn't be easy..

"You there? Games just about to start soon", Zarkon pat his shoulder a few times.

"Yeah, just...give me a bit of my own time."

In a bold display, Kulmin dared approach his outcast of a teammate. The others looked scornfully, they opined that he'd grown softer on him, too deluded to recognize a friendship in it's basic form. They had trained together over the several weeks leading up to the game, despite the other members silent objections to it. It's not like Sendak was trying to be a mentor, he had only noticed that Kulmin lacked a few techniques that, simple as they were, could be lifesaving if applied correctly.

"Nervous, huh?", Kulmin sat legs straight next to him.

"A little. I have more to lose than I have to gain", Sendak listened to the pre-game cheer of the crowd, waiting for the bloodiness to begin.

"I heard Yustekine wants you playing for them, this all determines that right?"

"Yeah", he affirmed.

"So what's the problem with winning?", the younger galra looked to his preferred team partner for an answer.

"I wouldn't be able to date Shiro anymore."

Kulmin sat up straight, "I've never dated anyone. If it feels anything like having a crush, it sucks to be single."

"Single like I've been before", Sendak sunk into the bench.

"You won't be by yourself, there's always friends to make, people to start relationships with."

That wasn't particularly comforting to hear, still, Sendak knew when someone meant to try and be supportive. He shook Kulmin's hand before the game, but not before the smaller galra told him something more.

"Listen, I know they don't like you, but I think you're the best shot we have."

Sendak smiled, "Oh yeah?"

His friend smiled back, "Definitely. Make coach proud out there."

They heard a signalling bell to let everyone know that in a few short minutes the game would start, in the meantime coach Zarkon gathered their attention with a short whistle. All eyes laid upon him, waiting for what he had to say about a strategy. In fact he didn't say anything about that yet, he passed by each student with a small box of paints and started handing out specific colors. Most of them were given black to mark in lower rank. A few were given orange to indicate they were a bigger challenge to face up against. Finally he stopped in front of Sendak, holding a bit of red paint. That signified the bloodthirstiest player for each team.

A player with a certain bloodlust was always the last to play, the last line of defense, or the greatest offense against the other team. Averageness wasn't enough to stop someone wearing red paint, no, only practice or pure luck. They had all trained to go up against low-tier bloodthirstiness (black paint), average bloodthirstiness (orange paint), and finally extreme bloodthirstiness, which in most times was hard to tell whether the red on such a players face was paint or just blood that had splattered across their cheeks. They had nothing to fear from Sendak, but the other team had better hoped they didn't give him a reason to tear an arm from them.

"This is our most important game in years, never have I had a team looked upon with so much talent and skill. Yes, it's true there are scouts for Yustekine out there, and they're mainly keeping an eye on our star player. But that doesn't mean you can't impress them enough to be recruited as well. If not them, then scouts for Erustin, Ilvedin, Wapix, and more", dropping the names of other highly sought schools caught their attention.

"But they're keeping an eye on the other team too. Whoever manages to beat the other will obviously have a higher chance at winning. This isn't any game where you can beat a few and be praised, no, put your best effort and take out as many as you can. Even if you feel close to fainting, that your arm's about to break, fight on until there's absolutely nothing you can do. I know it's brutal, but that's what they look for."

A few of them whooped in agreement, and their coach suddenly looked grim.

"You all know about Qatul, what their school is known for if they get to a grand-royal game. They will not hesitate to break you, tear you apart, or even kill you. Their students aren't just galra anymore, they're bonafide killing machines. Well I say why are they the only ones to be merciless? We can blind them too!"

"Yeah!", they cheered.

"We can cut off the arm that struck a teammate!", he raised an arm in the air.

"Yeah!", they yelled again, raising an arm as well.

"And we can avenge anyone they take down, if we go we'll drag as many of them with us as we can!"

"YEAH!!", a few stood up, whooping.

Zarkon held a clenched fist to stop the noise, "Can I count on you all to give it your strength, training, and power?"

They chanted in response, ready to get out there and kick some ass, or possibly kill a few. The coach nodded and had them line up in wait. Sendak stood next to Kulmin, who displayed a bit of nervousness. His bumped him for a moment, only lightly to get his attention. The younger galra looked up to his peer, slight fear in his eyes over the future.

"You'll do fine out there, I bet you can do a few things with the techniques I taught ya", Sendak grinned quickly before staring ahead, trying to get a view over the other teammates.

 

 

The crowd roared as they walked out in two lines, bright lights blinding them briefly before their eyes adjusted to their surroundings. The other team already stood at the other side, tapping their gear impatiently as they watched Sendak and his team get to their bench. They looked ready to kill, but so were Coach Zarkon's players. They all set aside major differences, that being Sendak's presence, and formed a quick lineup to salute to the emperor.

"Vrepit Sa!", they shouted in unison, the crowd cheering louder at the gesture.

It was then that a single referee Sentry walked to the center of the field. It always picked from lowest first, progressing higher as opponents from either team were knocked out or worse. The process wasn't a complete lineup and waiting one's turn, however. It would pick randomly from however many lower ranking players there were, likewise it would randomly pick average tier, and picking highest tier was only when the very last player remained for a team.

Sendak observed it point to a mohawked member from the other team, then quickly pointing to Tevix down the bench. His teammate looked slightly shocked at being picked first, then quickly steeled himself as he went up against the mohawked Qatul player. The referee took a well distance back from the two, then fired a single energized shot into the air.

Immediately the mohawked player went forward with quick strikes, almost catching Tevix off guard until he started to hold his ground. Mohawk, as Sendak started calling him, started striking harder in the strategy of tiring out an opponent that appeared to be defensive. A mistake on Mohawk's part, Tevix manuevered his weapon in such a way that he could grip the other blade free from his opponent. Mohawk was quick to act, jabbing fists at the swords now locked in an X-shape to try and block the attack. Another moment and Tevix nearly fell, it turned out to be a trick to catch Mohawk in an attack.

Tevix sliced down at the other student's shoulder, a pained cry coming from him. Without giving him time to recover he cut at the student's knees, forcing him to kneel at the end of a blade. He grimaced at Mohawk, who defiantly stared back despite his body being at the mercy of Tevix. It was then that the dual-wielder held up a closed fist, the crowd groaned slightly at his decision.

"Mercy!", he yelled to the referee.

"Understood. Please allow room for EMT's to escort your opponent to medical aid."

Mohawk was carried out by a few medically trained sentries, Sendak almost felt bad that he was cut apart so quickly. It wasn't anything less than what Qatul would've done, but still, brutality looked suffering. Another few seconds passed and the referee turned to pick out another member of Qatul. It just so happened that it's choice was a female, as equally dual-wielding as Tevix, this time his opponent looked trained to attack instead of defend.

Another energy shot, Tevix found himself blocking a split-second after the sound of the gun rang out. To his misfortune it seemed that his opponents were trained to attack as soon as the time allowed. Worse was her even quicker attacks. He barely had time to adjust before one attack sliced into him. It wasn't a very deep cut, but bleeding would eventually make him feel weak. She sliced again as he was defending, hitting his elbow, his thigh, grazing his ear, until she finally lost her temper. One of her swords crept under his defense and forced him to part his swords, he was met with a prompt kick to the face.

The crowd winced as Tevix was launched back, the girl had certainly earned her place if she could send someone flying like that. Tevix wasn't bleeding badly, but the girl still had a few swords. And there was no guarantee that she wouldn't do anything to Tevix, he had after all potentially crippled her teammate. She even mimicked what he had done, putting a sword threateningly close as Tevix was made to kneel. Then she started to hold up a fist, not completely for a grim reason.

In an instant she cut down through Tevix's shoulder, cutting the arm clean off in one swipe. She laughed as the boy in front of her screamed in agony, holding his other arm to the wound to try and keep the bleeding down. It was then that she raised a complete fist, yelling out "Finish!" as the crowd both booed and cheered from each respective side of the arena. The medical responders quickly came to Tevix, more urgency than their last recipient.

Sendak and his team sat in silent disgust at the sight of the severed arm. One even threw up as the sentry picked it up. Sendak didn't know if it was the same for each teammate, but something about seeing Tevix's arm on him five minutes ago and now seperated bothered him immensely. It also hit him personally given that his own arm was cut off long ago, the result of playing with another player's temper too much and too long.

"Fuck", he quietly breathed out.

Coach Zarkon blew his whistle to signify a brief pause for the game, the crowd slightly disappointed in his decision. Like in the locker room, he stood in front of his team to give a short pep talk.

"This, this is what I meant. They'll take your mercy and spit on it. It's not about winning to them, it's about skillful torture. From this point on, do not hesitate to cut off any of their limbs if you must."

The team nodded in agreement, and Zarkon signalled to the referee that it could choose again.

 

 

The referee pointed to a larger teammate of Sendak's, Vustil. With his size he could be a tough opponent to take out, being able to take a few hits and all. The broad-galra grabbed an electric maul and walked forward, sneering at his opponent. Kick, as Sendak started to name her, took one look at Vustil and anyone in the crowd could tell she had him studied to a beat. In her case though, bringing down a giant would take time and more effort. One slip and she would be brutally knocked down.

She started with a quick swipe at the legs, one that Vustil dodged in an instant. The next was a combination of a stab and a kick, the latter being used to try and push down someone dodging. In her case it was a foolish move, he'd long since gotten used to being kicked around and as a result, built up a certain tolerance for pain. His maul smacked her to the side, she quickly cried in pain before taking a few seconds to almost instantly regain her footing. Kick then looked unsure, probably thinking of a new plan to take him out. It took all of five seconds for her to make one.

Kick abandoned her 'bigger they are, harder they fall' strategy in favor of simply cutting Vustil as much as she could. His armor helped, slightly, but of course Kick had trained to break through it like it was the weakest thing she'd ever pierced. They went slightly deeper than her slices at Tevix, and he knew if he kept letting her attack like this she would eventually make him collapse from blood loss. Without a second thought he sacrificed the use of his hand to grab a sword and pull her in, instantly shoving her hard onto the metal floor. Some of his blood dripped around her, on her, he was almost a little bit sick to see so much being lost.

For good measure he pounded his good fist into both of her arms, she surprisingly grit her teeth as if she knew it would happen. The next moment would ruin Kick's life, possibly permanently. Vustil remembered her kick straight to his gut, good effort but in the end, futile. He hit at a crippling spot to one of them, leaving her in agonizing pain that resulted in a slow scream. He held up his fist to give out the end of a round, the crowd equally booing and cheering just as last time.

"You bastard!", she screamed. "I can't feel my fucking leg!"

Medical sentries put her onto the cart as she berated her opponent, Vustil chuckled as he thought of how she had quickly forgotten cutting apart his friend. If he had to, he would tear someone limb from limb.

 Sendak watched his teammate stand idly, blood still pouring out like hot water ran over it. At that rate, he would collapse in five minutes at the most. The referee pointed to a bulky member of Qatul, seeing two giants going against the other was never an easy sight. Sendak called the other one 'Snake', it seemed to be a half-breed from the looks of the tongue flickering in and out now and then. He was almost afraid to think about what else the opponent had inherited from whoever his father/mother was.

Vustil knew his situation was bad, if not grim, and so he started with a few swings of the sword to his opponent. The other moved out of the way and brought himself closer. Everyone found out why a second later when Snake suddenly bit into Vustil. The instantaneous scream would be burned into Sendak's mind, no way would he forget something like that. Vustil struggled to get the Qatul member off his arm, he felt himself dying, to the very staggering of his legs. Probably poison from whatever alien this galra was mixed with, how that was allowed in fighting he didn't know.

Like Coach said, if he would go down, he would drag them down too. His maul powered up and buzzed against Snake's head, finally the other let go as he hissed in pain. But Vustil wouldn't let that stop, no, the maul continuously burned the head into a shrunken nightmare. Blood burst through the ears, eyes, and nose of the now-deformed mess that was Snake, the only legible thing left being the terrified eyes of a dying opponent. Vustil fell to the ground as he laughed, remembering the few good times over the last couple years. Fuck, he was supposed to meet his girlfriend after the game. He closed his eyes one last time and breathed out a final chuckle.

 

 

 

Vustil had been alive just moments before. He still had a chance to survive, to lose enough blood to go unconscious. Qatul hadn't crossed the line yet until just the minute prior. He didn't like Sendak, sure, but that didn't mean Sendak wanted him to die. And what did his friends think of this, they grew up around the culture and had been to a few games, but they probably hadn't attended a Grand-Royal game with Sendak's team. And just Sendak's luck, of course Shiro was there in front row seats just near the team. He looked over to the human, who he initially didn't spot until he saw a white patch of hair. His face was hidden due to fear, an arm covering the brutality of it all.

"Fuck!", Sendak said out loud as the sentries came to carry out the bodies.

"They won't be able to do that again, don't worry", Zarkon said, a little defeat in his voice.

He was right, controversial as the killing rule was, it did have it's limits. Depending on how many death's occured in one match, the maximum obviously two, it was forbidden to kill again for twelve more rounds. So even if the Qatul's were willing to kill, the worst they could do was dismember anyone. The same applied for Sendak and his teammates, though he never intended to fatally wound anyone there.

 

 

Several rounds passed with varying degrees of violence and equal exchanges of intensifying savagery. Someone from Qatul lost their tail, which was disgustingly repaid by someone from Sendak's team losing their tongue. And that was avenged with cutting off the hands, which was then one-upped by losing both arms, and so forth until Sendak threw up a couple times at the sheer amount of blood and limbs being strewn about. Not even he wanted to be that violent, though he knew the only way to stop an angry galra set out for revenge was to risk his own life.

At one point it seemed that Sendak's team had the advantage, his "friend" named Restig managing to take four of the Qatul's down without much personal loss. He even fully mercified the defeat of the fourth, deciding cuts and bruises were enough scars to bear. It just so happened that the fourth one he beat was the last of the average-bloodthirsty players on Qatul's side.

Sendak and his friends let out a short cheer to Restig for breaking down Qatul's team, one by one. The applause stopped as the referee came out and pointed to the very last player, red-bloodthirstiness. It appeared to be a shorter galra, wearing a metal helmet to conceal its identity. It didn't appear female, so that made 'it' a he. 'He' walked out and took off his mask, confirming his gender and his inherited Altean traits. His hair was pure white, and he smirked as he watched Restig. Sendak hated the overly-confident types, but if this was a red-painted player then there was reason to worry.

The match began just as the others had, and Sendak learned a little too well why the player had red paint. He quickly dodged around any attacks Restig assaulted him with, Sendak thought he could see him laughing. Finally the other player, 'White' as Sendak called him, fell to his knees in a dodge and threw his sword to Restig's lower waist. His legs came off at the knees, Restig grit his teeth as he tried to stop himself from screaming. He looked behind for a second and saw two bloody stumps, bone, and lots of blood where his two legs used to be. The only thing he could do was crawl now to his weapon, it was just to the left of him.

It was then that the very same sword stabbed into his hand, the hard press of a boot on his other arm.

"You have been defeated by me, Lotor, a smaller galra by all means. If you continue to resist, I will show you just how cruel I can be", the sword moved side to side in Restig's hand.

As much as he hated Lotor, he didn't want to lose his arms. He ceased his struggle and the half-breed holding him there chuckled. Lotor's fist raised as he yelled "Finish!" to the sentries.

Sendak didn't know why, but something about the way Lotor seemed to be toying with Restig bothered him. If he would pretend to make bad calls, act defensive and be offensive, then how brutal could this boy be? He would find out in a few short moments, the referee picked Lixvit out of the remaining orange-tiered players.

Lixvit flicked his ears up in surprise, walking up to Lotor feeling slightly uneasy about the other one's lack of immediate care. His unsettled self was further broken when Lotor drove hits hard and fast, cutting deeper and possibly lethal if he didn't block soon. So he did, but it only helped to keep himself alive at the best. His arms took the worst of it, until finally one gave from exhaustion and Lotor took the opportunity to cut an ear clean off the head.

One moment a long, furless ear sat on him, the next a screaming, hopeful youth clutching a bloody spot that not only felt pain, but no longer could he hear sound. Lotor strided up to him and spoke into his good ear.

"I imagine it must be painful, yes?", he stuck the sharp end of the blade into Lixvit's leg, making him writhe a little.

"Shut up and surrender or I'll take the other one", he calmly said.

"I....I yield..", Lixvit said, resting his hands despite the blood pouring from his right lobe, or whatever remained of it.

"Finish!", Lotor yelled, the crowd cheering just as much as it hated him.

 

 

Sendak watched in growing grimace as Lotor took out the rest of the average players. First Jixok, Baraz, Tzilvin, Wretiket, and second to last Uimin. The only player remaining, after what seemed to be countless limbs seperated and lost, was Kulmin. He looked slightly frightened at the finger pointing to him, and Sendak sensed it immediately. He patted him on the back to try and ease some of his fear.

"S-so....what do I do?", Kulmin said as the sentry waited for him to come.

"Just remember to frequently dodge, surprise him, and don't ever attack until there's a sliver of time that he can't see it happening."

"Fine", his remaining friend said as he got up from the bench.

Kulmin slowly approached the half-breed, taking in his snide stare and giving back an equally spiteful gaze. The sentry raising it's gun felt slower this round, and Kulmin readied his grip for Lotor's attack.

Lotor swung forward without a moment's notice, giving Kulmin just a fabric of time to recover. But surprisingly he held his own in dodging and fleeing to try and tire out his opponent. It amused Lotor for a few minutes, until an annoyed glare took over his face and he forced Kulmin to stay still. He went up close and personal to his opponent, locking swords to him in the hopes of making him fear the cold sting of the blade. Instead Lotor found a rebellious opponent that shoved him back, the slight change in plans faltering him enough to receive one slice on the cheek.

The arena fell silent as Lotor was finally struck for the first time. Even Kulmin, wary of Lotor as he was, took a moment to look at the fresh wound. Lotor however thought it best to see just how effective the attack had been. He felt blood run down the small wound, rubbing a few of the drops on his fingers before wiping it off on his armor. He chuckled as he looked to Kulmin, obviously not as angry as Sendak would've thought.

"It's too bad I was only holding back", and with that Lotor was merciless.

He leapt around Kulmin, giving him almost no room to observe exactly where and what was being hit. It was as if the boy was reaching his threshold of pain, and even Lotor knew that. One last kick to the boy's back was enough to make him walk away, bored at his opponents lack of spirit. Kulmin wouldn't give up that easily though, he got up quickly even as Lotor ignorantly walked away. Surprise attacks weren't common, yet Lotor was making it very easy to set one up. He was so close to the half-breed that he could almost grab his hair.

Then Lotor stepped aside and drove a sword through his opponent's lungs.

He laughed as Kulmin gasped and gurgled on the arena floor, sword still stuck inside. He was still breathing, as wet as it sounded and Lotor continued to laugh as if it was the biggest joke in the universe. With one quick motion he thrust the weapon out, shoving his rival down with a brutal kick.

"Did you think I would let this slide?", he bent down to the hardly breathing Kulmin and pointed to his cheek cut. Sentries rushed over with a cot, waiting for the finish.

Lotor let a few more seconds pass, then a few more, and finally a minute and a half pass. Then he raised his fist in a finish, Sendak watched as they took Kulmin, or maybe Kulmin's body, out of the arena. He hoped to whatever deity existed that the boy was alive, beating heart and all...

And then the sentry pointed to him, his world became that of revenge.

"Hey, just a second", Zarkon said before he walked up.

"What!", he nearly growled out as he struggled to contain the rage.

"Lotor's doing all that to impress Yustekine, much as I hate to say it, they look for players that want brutality. So....if you beat him, give him what he deserves."

"We'll see...", Sendak said as he started walking to his opponent.

Lotor smiled at seeing something new, someone that held a candle not only over him, but other galra. Even Sendak knew that, he was bigger, badder, stronger, and had the scars to prove it too. He pondered over what Lotor thought of his arm, his eye, or other such scars. In a moment it wouldn't matter, the sentry nearby raised it's gun and the shot rang out.

Lotor employed the same method of mercilessness to Sendak as he did when he struck at Kulmin, and the strange thing was....Sendak let it happen. He took the cuts without as much as a claw raised, even Lotor noticed and slowed down. He circled around him, waiting for something to happen but it never came. He heard him growl but that was the most of it.

"If you thought refusing to fight would make you less boring, you're wrong. Cliched filth", he stuck his thin blade straight into the stomach, the audience gasped at Sendak simply giving in.

Then Sendak growled and grabbed the blade, pulling it deeper along with Lotor. The boy tried to let go, but Sendak's metal hand caught him dead in his tracks. He didn't whimper, in fact he spit in the face of the galra holding him up for the audience. They all watched as he was displayed up in the air, limbs slightly struggling to kick at the other galra. Sendak thought quickly and acted accordingly so, and as he held up the boy by the armor he took one claw across the eyes.

Lotor screamed as his vision went dark, feeling real pain for what felt like the first in years. He heard Sendak walking behind him, a sick squelch followed by a sword slicing his hands at the palms. Not even those could shield from blood, it seemed. His hair tugged back violently, and he felt an uneven cut taking away his beautiful long hair. Sendak continued with his cruel treatment, maybe even surprising himself at what rage could make him do, but it wasn't something to think over as he broke each and every finger on Lotor's little hands. Not even Lotor would've gone so far as to spit on someone he'd tortured, and that was where he found himself as he felt the hot liquid hit his cheek.

Lotor's tears still flowed, somehow, and the salt did nothing to help the blood or the pain. As he sat there, wondering just what would happen next, he regretted going so far as to possibly kill that other boy.

"Finish!", Sendak said to the cheering crowd.

"Wh-what?", Lotor asked to his left, or his right, he couldn't tell where Sendak was walking anymore.

"You're lucky I didn't kill you, gods know you might've done just that to Kulmin", a voice said between the haziness.

"Kul...Kulmin....the other one..", he felt a cold metal hand touch his arm, and reflexively jumped back.

It wasn't Sendak's, only the hand of a sentry. Due to his distrust and erratic behaviour, a few extra sentries came and forcefully escorted Lotor out. The half-breed kicked and struggled as he tried to find just who was where, and when he had made a mistake. How could he have made one, how......

"You haven't seen the last of me! I'll see you again in whatever league you play for!", Lotor shouted.

 _'Loser'_ , Sendak thought as he walked back to his bench.

The crowd cheered as he took his wounds in stride, still bleed but walking confidently. Then a slow chant began, they all repeated his name in unison to cheer for the avenging galra. It always felt nice for him to be a crowd pleaser, and please he usually did. Victory dust shot out from the pillars, peppering his fur with various shades of purple and grey. He coughed a few times as he went to Zarkon, who looked worried for very valid reasons.

Then he fell to his knees, oh yeah.......he did have a stab wound in his abdomen, didn't he........

He saw a glimpse of Shiro in the crowd, it looked like he was shouting Sendak's name.

"Heh, I love you too...", he said out loud as medical sentries put him under, and like the last time he was given medical care, his world turned to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, that's how I envision galran arena's. If I could write violence a bit better, it would be a bit more gruesome. But here's a small bit of that, so whatever I guess.


	20. The Hospital: Emergency Checkup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sendak wakes up in the hospital after his fight with Lotor. Shiro provides comfort for him, but several athletic scouts drag him back into making a hard choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo....writing is hard when you get a job lol  
> Seriously though, finding time to just be creative after exhausting myself is frustrating.

Sendak awoke in a hospital bed, much like when he'd fought Myzax. Vague, then vivid recall came of his fight with Lotor. He should've taken more, cut off his legs entirely for all he cared. Instead he defeated him and robbed his sight, something that would be regained within weeks. It did feel good to slightly ruin the other teen's appearance, after what happened to Kulmin, Lotor was lucky that Sendak only went as far as he did.

He looked down at the injuries he'd gotten, and was lucky enough to find that he didn't feel whatever wound was gained from impaling himself. So that meant it might've been bad enough to be an emergency healing, or his parents gave consent to that.

He looked around the room to find that, like his last visit, his parents sat on the right. To his left, resting a head against a pillow, was Shiro. The room was dark and the lights dim, his first thought was to wake his parents. Then again, who better to talk to than Shiro? His fingers softly brushed fur against him, the human scrunched up his face until finally opening his eyes to find what disturbed him. It was then that he smiled and slowly rose to look at the single yellow eye next to a currently deactivated implant.

"Hey..", Shiro quietly said, letting large fingers feel around his cheek.

"I'm sorry about the fight", Sendak whispered.

"That's not what bothered me, I'm angry they let him nearly murder....", Shiro left his chair as a furry hand tried to knead him more.

"It's supposed to be a last resort, he's not going without carrying a suspension."

"True. But he deserved better, not stabbed through the chest by an asshole that  _enjoys_ it", Shiro's voice nearly rose higher, one of Sendak's parents shifted slightly before becoming still again.

"You don't know what we deal with. It...it just happens sometimes, I think about how it could've gone different. Sad, but never angry."

Shiro sighed and leaned down to give a single kiss to Sendak's cheek, which was promptly turned into a real kiss by Sendak.

"I missed you, more than....more than thinking of sappy crap."

The human laughed quietly and sat closer to Sendak, "I missed you too, I didn't know if that fight would change you or...worse."

"I wouldn't let you see me at my worst, never", Sendak smiled and grabbed Shiro's waist.

"What are you-", Sendak quietly raised Shiro over the sides of the bed, adjusting the blanket to cover them both.

He purred his thoughts away, possibly leaving to an entirely different school was for the new day. In that night he could let his claws run through Shiro's slightly unkept hair, even massaging him slightly. He eventually felt Shiro go still, which satisfied him enough for rest. In their sleep they hugged the other tighter, not knowing how much longer they could keep together.

 

Sendak opened his eyes and found Shiro still curled against him, head snugly against his chest. His mom smiled as she watched her son wake for the morning, he yawned a little loudly which made Shiro stir. He let his human wake up, blinking a few times in the morning light and trying to go back to sleep. But Sendak tickled him a few times, just softly enough to keep him awake.

Shiro yawned, "You're a jerk..."

"I think it's time to wake up", he said in his ear.

"You're the one that put me here..", Shiro said while rubbing his eyes.

Sendak sat up to eat some of the breakfast nearby, which he guessed was from his mother. Shiro still refused to move, so Sendak simply shared his food. He thought it was funny to see Shiro, half-awake, and eating from the spoon like a child. Shiro only moved his arms to hug closer around Sendak, something that he adamantly refused to stop doing.

"When did he get in with you?", his mom asked.

"I put him here last night", Sendak gave another spoon of yogurt to Shiro's lazily reaching tongue.

Sendak poked Shiro's neck a few times, "C'mon Shiro, a guy's gotta eat.."

"Fine", Shiro said, getting himself from the bed to sit beside him.

Sendak held Shiro's hand as he ate, still happy that he was alive. Yes, he was alive, but what about Kulmin? The moment it happened came back to him, the stab, blood, scream and all. And he had to make sure Kulmin was alive. He finished his cereal quickly, and he only took a large bite out of the Werrix fruit his mom had grabbed. He showered quickly, dressed even faster, yet his boyfriend and parents were holding him back.

"Hey!", Shiro said, stopping him before he exhausted himself.

"What?", Sendak asked.

"You need rest", Shiro said.

"I need to make sure Kulmin's ok", Sendak brushed him off, still Shiro tugged at his arm.

"You need to stay here", Shiro said as a reprimand.

"My friend is-"

"He's on life support, Sendak! He could be dying and I don't want you to see it."

The announcement put them all in silence. Sendak's parents had already heard it once, Shiro too, but it hurt to hear it. Sendak turned around and sadly looked at Shiro, kneeling down to his face level. He gripped his head once to get a good look at his face, the expression couldn't lie: Kulmin was nearly dead. Sendak froze in the moment, the hot sting of tears breaking the illusion that he'd become as a statue.

"They tried everything they could to save him, trust me...the only thing he can do right now is make peace with anyone..."

Sendak's father stepped forward, "He wants you to have this, son."

His father handed him a short letter, the wording of it wasn't short, or long, but just the right amount.

_\---------_

_Sendak_

_So, here we are on the verge of me. Living or dying in a hospital after that bastard cut my lungs._

_I can still feel the pain, but don't worry, I can breathe just fine. That's the least the doctors did for me, they say I'm lucky to be alive. I won't ask you to give me sympathy, not after what myself and the others did. But I can ask that you visit them, see if they're ok and all. As for me, I'd rather you not see me. I don't know if I'll make it, but I know you can. Go with your heart, trust in the ones you love, be free to pursue what you want._

_Sincerely,_

_Kulmin_

\----------

Sendak set it to the side of the bed, it wasn't an entirely bleak message but Kulmin was afraid. Sendak had to visit him, if he was conscious, and if not he would visit his other friends. Provide comfort in their suffering, he hoped, but Shiro still didn't want him to go. Despite them insisting he needed to rest, he went outside the room. A few nearby nurses had to physically stop him and ask what he was doing.

"Sir, you need to stay in your room, you can't-"

"Where's my friend?", Sendak asked.

"Friend?"

"Someone injured in the arena, stabbed through the chest."

"I can find out sir, but for now you-"

"And where are the rest of them?"

The nurse faltered, "R-rest?"

"There should be a team of injured players here, correct?"

"I can find out, but you need to return to your room sir", the nurse calmly said.

Sendak sighed, "Fine", he walked with a few nurses behind to ensure he went where they wanted him to go.

He stayed for another night and quickly found why they wanted him there. The wound would become painful again unless a medicinal gel was applied regularly to him, even then his time between gel applications was little. The first thing he wanted to do was visit Kulmin, but he found out Kulmin had to get extensive surgery that day. If he was guessing right, they were probably replacing his lungs as a last-ditch effort.

So, he visited some of the team, that is if they weren't in similar situations to Kulmin.

"Tevix, you have a visitor", a nurse said to announce Sendak's arrival.

"Yeah who", he heard Tevix say, the other boy slowly sat up, white light glinting off his new arm.

He and Sendak were alike, in a way, save for their arms being exact opposite in position.

"Tevix!", Sendak said, walking up to him slowly.

"Sendak", the other teen said, smiling slightly.

"Feeling better?"

"It only cost me an arm and a leg, wait, no, only the arm", Tevix chuckled.

"Never heard that one before", Sendak quipped.

"I'm still getting used to the pain, shut up", Tevix said, moving the arm slightly.

The metal fingers folded in slightly, "Those Alteans, you can count on them to make an arm instead of a weapon."

"So you chose that?"

Tevix nodded, "It looks better on me, and I can still defend myself with this. After that game I wouldn't wanna play for a league anymore."

"I understand", Sendak sat aside him, "but what  _are_ you gonna do for your future?"

Tevix breathed out a laugh, "Who knows, really? I'm not staying here, for sure. I did pretty well in engineering courses, I can probably get myself on a ship somewhere."

"Sounds like a good idea."

A nurse came by to dismiss Sendak, Tevix had to go through his own regular medical treatment.

"Hey Sendak", Tevix said just before they led him to a room.

"Yeah?"

"Good luck, and sorry for everything", Tevix smiled and turned to face his future.

Sendak smiled and waved, then headed back to his own room to see if anyone needed him. Hopefully it wouldn't be too many people.

 

 

In fact quite a few people did, namely representatives from a few major schools. Yustekine was there, of course, and Sendak dreaded an offer of a scholarship. His parents stood before them all, trying to control a few as they walked to get their respective letters in first. Shiro sat to the side looking sadder than usual, Sendak shared that sentiment with him. Both needed something to distance themselves from it, so Sendak saw one solution in mind. Holding Shiro's hand seemed so simple, but the warm smile and slight grip made it all worth it for him.

"Who arrived first?", he asked the group.

"Qatul", his mother replied.

"Qatul?", as if on cue the moment he said that a shorter man approached his bed.

"I assure you, our school is very interested in your methods of battle", the galra from said-school replied with an outstretched hand.

Sendak shook it, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm in this to be the best, not for excessive violence."

The representative spluttered, "I b-beg your pardon- That display was more punishing than...than Lotor!"

"And I'm not interested", the teen replied.

"You'd be throwing away a fantastic career, you could be one of the greats!"

Sendak frowned at that thought, he could never be "great" from endlessly killing his opponents. Qatul graduates had a tendency to do that, and he'd heard rumors of how Qatul training went.

"I'll have to decline, I'm sorry", he gave one last shake to the disappointed representative.

He went through a list of them all, more major players like Destixkel, a school that had built up it's education with frequent breakthroughs as well as record-setters for an arena. Lomboc, a northern school reputed to subject it's players to extremely brutal environments to build up their body's natural defenses, as well as to hone their offensive instincts to make the ultimate survivalist. Zmet (which required a term in the military to even attend) offered continued athletics along with a guaranteed service to the emperor, at the most it would just mean Sendak got a nice paycheck at the end of it.

And finally, the big Y, Yustekine came in the form of a strong woman. She was a little like Sendak, large ears that fluffed out and complemented her overall look. She dressed herself into a form-fitting, but not body-tight, suit. Her grip was enough to rival his own, and he admired that strength. Her personality dripped with confidence in her job, and Sendak knew she was probably personally responsible for convincing dozens if not hundreds of lucky students to attend a prestigious institute.

"Good shake, just a little test to see the mettle on you", she said.

"And you're?"

"Zethrid Quantol, here to hopefully recruit you", another toothy grin flashed to the room.

Sendak smiled to her, afterwards spying his boyfriend giving a thumbs up and a sad smile. With one handshake, Sendak would be a professional athlete. With a smile, a simple signing would put his next few years to college exclusively. It was stupid to even worry about, he tried to think as a piteous attempt to convince his mind nothing was wrong. Shiro was, after all, his first highschool crush. And Shiro probably thought of Sendak the same, how couldn't he after he'd been bullied by him? Then liked, then loved, and...

He still loved Shiro too much to simply say yes without another thought.

"Can I speak with my boyfriend? Privately?", he says to the rep. and his parents.

The moment they were out the door and their privacy shut with a click, Sendak pulled Shiro in.

"What are you doing..", Shiro said with a laugh.

"I love you, that's all", and Sendak closed that sentence with a kiss.

Time went still around them, Sendak purr broke through and reminded them of the reality. Sendak wouldn't throw away his career, not if Shiro wanted him to keep going. Wouldn't he?

"Do you really want me to go to Yustekine?", he honestly asked, giving Shiro a more serious look.

Shiro stopped smiling, then forced out a laugh to him.

"You'd love it there, we both know that..", Shiro tangled some of Sendak's fur into little twirls, his favorite thing to do with him.

"Yeah, they're pretty good", Sendak stared up at the ceiling, rubbing Shiro's head softly.

Shiro sighed, "I know it sucks, but you need to think about your life. That school won't just put you through an arena career, if it's as good as you say."

Sendak pondered that for a moment, "Yustekine's name alone would be enough credit on any resume."

"Probably."

"But I'll miss you", he said as he kissed Shiro's hair.

"And I'll miss you too", Shiro finished with a real kiss, slow and tender.

"Hey, if we're ever apart, don't wait for too long on finding someone else to love, yeah?"

Shiro frowned and closed his eyes in denial, "Stop."

"What?", Sendak hugged him closer to comfort any offense.

"We haven't even broken up, just don't...make me think about that."

"Shiro, look at me", he made the human look in his eyes.

Sendak let out a happy sigh, "I love you", he kissed the human very briefly, "but I won't make you wait."

"Who says I wouldn't wait for you?", Shiro replied with a lazy smile.

"We wouldn't last like that and you know it, I wouldn't wanna make you feel like I'm distancing anything. When we're in school we can be friends, I just wouldn't want to break your heart. If you've moved on, then, well, you've moved on."

"Sendak, our relationship isn't something to just get over..", Shiro defended.

"Not asking for that, but if and when the time comes, let yourself have someone else."

Shiro sighed, "Fine, if I'm missing you, or whatever it feels like to just hold someone, then I might get someone else. But the chances of that are zero to none, so-"

Sendak kissed him before he could finish that, short again.

"I love you so much..", he said as he grazed a few claws along that smooth jaw.

"I do too..", Shiro agreed as he ruffled the cheekfur along Sendak's jawline.

A few knocks rapped against the door, not hard but loud enough to snap them to attention. Sendak's mother peeked in the door and spied Shiro sitting on the side of the bed, he waved her in and they resumed with the details of what Sendak would do. The athlete knew it would be difficult, yet nothing prepared him for the hard-hitting details that all-but confirmed what coach Zarkon had outlined.

"Ready to consider it?", Zethrid warmly proceeded.

Sendak nodded and the woman began to confirm the harder truths about attendance.

"Contact with anyone is usually at the minimum, Yustekine isn't just about sports. We're also not just any university, no ego intended, so if you think it's gonna be hard it'll be a lot more difficult than that."

Sendak slightly deflated at that, he hoped he would be good enough for the school, maybe make some friends that could help him  _if_ and only if they had found free time. Otherwise he would try his best, maybe graduate off the minimum grade needed and rely on athletics for the rest. It wasn't like studying and understanding was impossible for him, it was just that he preferred to give something a glance instead of really looking to take in the knowledge.

"Yeah, so keep the phone calls to the holiday's mom", he said with a laugh.

Zethrid straightened out her skirt, "That should be everything you need to know, the rest is harder to explain than it is to experience it."

"I accept the offer, if any", Sendak held out his arm for another strong shake.

"Wonderful! Yustekine looks forward to your contributions, we'll be working with your school over the details for application. They'll be working closely with you too, so be prepared for a lot of extra after-school hours."

"What else from the best?", Sendak shared a quick laugh between the two.

Zethrid left them with a quick galran salute of goodbye, a bow and nod, Sendak and company returning the same gesture. After the woman left was when Sendak sighed and layed back down to consider it again, a worried mood and equally worried parents to accompany him. They could only say so much, and even his father couldn't understand the pressure of being accepted by a major University.

Only Shiro, gentle, precious Shiro, brought him out of the self-pity. That hand that so carefully clasped to his, the familiar want in each other's eyes, that shine of love evident. Maybe he didn't need to think about university, his arm was distracting him too much by pulling Shiro in. And once he started to purr it was hard to get him to stop, the noise would only hinder further thoughts about it. His parents made no effort to keep them apart, knowing just a bit of rest was just what the two needed.

 

 

If only, another knock sounded from the door and brought that woman back into Sendak's focus. His parents had a similar thought in their looks, yet put on smiles again for her. Soon Sendak could only hear whispers, just barely picking it up with his ears. Shiro absentmindedly played with fur, making small braids in his neck and head to try and ignore the scouting.

'Oh I won't tell him, no you can-'

'-hope we aren't troubling him, is he healing well?'

That last whisper sounded more like Haxus, and once his mother opened the door it confirmed the guess. The small galra walked in and hugged around his best friend, sighing to himself that he was alright. Antok followed behind, along with Mizal and Ayka who came with what looked like giant bags of Sendak's favorite candy. Sendak felt grateful that after everything those two had done to hurt each other that they still ended up best friends again.

"Are you well? Did that monster hurt you too deep to fix?", Haxus asked, fretting over like a cat to her kittens.

"Hax, he's fine..", Antok tugged his boyfriend away from the bed to give Sendak breathing room.

Mizal saw it as her opportunity to plop one of the bags into his lap, right into a still-sore bruise. Sendak winced slightly but still smiled at the sight of it, those delicious little things he hadn't eaten in forever.

"Sup man?", she asked like nothing happened.

"Oh nothing, just dealing with a stab wound, it's not like that bag came close to hitting it or anything", Sendak rubbed around the wound, trying to soothe the slight pain now drumming up.

Mizal snickered, "Shame it didn't, too bad I'll have to live with more of the sass."

"Oh please, you brought sass in the moment you set foot in the door", he said as he opened the bag.

"Yeah, can I give him my bag too or am I just gonna eat this myself?", Ayka said, appearing between the two and gently handing him the candy.

"Don't eat too many of those..", his mother warned.

"Yeah yeah, I can share. Shiro, you wanna try one?", he handed over one of the smaller candy-bars.

"What is this?"

Sendak chewed into one of the confections as he spoke, "They call 'em Olkarian twists, they're probably some of the tastiest things I've ever eaten."

"Ok, how....does it taste?", Shiro turned the purple-ish colored treat around, it was melting against the heat of his fingers though that didn't matter.

"Just try it", he pushed, bringing the candy up to Shiro's mouth.

"Fine..", he swiped it from the galra, chewing it to find that it wasn't typical candy.

It tasted incredibly.....bad. Disgusting, like chewing up dirt and the texture of it didn't help. A trashcan was next to the bed, so he 'blech'ed into it and went to wash out his mouth as Sendak laughed. The rest of the room stifled a few chuckles over Shiro's reaction to the alien candy, despite his annoyed glares at them. Pretty soon his own laughs joined in, what else would it be besides funny to watch someone try something for the first time?

Those moments were what he craved, what he wanted to appreciate. It wouldn't last forever, savoring it would only go so far before reality slapped him in the face. Sitting around and seeing other happy faces, it probably wasn't the best time to worry about losing it. Sendak's purr furthered to distance his mind from that, and he found himself sleepy after a long day of potential schools for his boyfriend.

 _'Enjoy it as it comes'_ , he thought as he fell to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm trying to actually finish this. This chapter is a bit rushed (or maybe a lot I dunno) but I wanted to get it out, imperfections or not. Sorry it takes so long to update, again, you can leave any thoughts in the comments and I would enjoy them! Next chapter we'll see something about Hantok, and I've been working on a side-story for those two in Antok's pov.
> 
> As for the main story overall, we're probably nearing the end very soon. Just gotta get a few more things out of the way and then we'll see if Sendak can still date Shiro in the end.


	21. The Interview

Antok lazily pat his tail against Haxus while they napped together, the boy hugging around him for warmth. Whether Haxus knew or not, Antok usually kept himself awake for most if not all of the "naps" they held together. It wasn't his fault that his prettyboy was so damn cute to watch. Wait, that sounded kinda creepy, though it was true about the cuteness. He chuckled as he rubbed his three-fingered hand in the fur of Haxus' ear, trailing down his neck and stopping just short of his back. Then of course there was the fur under his shirt, which he would've gladly shaped if not for the shirt in front, it might wake him to root around under it.

"Mmm...", Haxus peacefully sounded as he awoke, a sleepy smile and half-open eyes to greet him.

"Hey Hax..", Antok slowly licked his forehead to reposition a stray strand of fur.

"Do you sleep or do you protect me while I rest?"

"Well, sometimes I just like looking at you", Antok kissed his nose briefly.

Haxus stretched his arms out as he pushed himself up, yawning as Antok looked at the canines in his jaw.

"What?", Haxus said as Antok pressed closer.

"Just a sec..", Antok held his hand to his mouth, pressing a finger in, forgetting his boyfriend's still-puzzled expression.

"Ahnthok", he said with a finger in his mouth.

"Yeah?"

"Whathareyoding", he tried to say.

"Your teeth are really sharp..", Antok sounded slightly lost.

Haxus pulled the fingers out, "Do you have a thing for teeth?"

Antok's fur bristled into a blush, "Just uhh, marking and all that."

Haxus grinned, "I see, and how do you feel about me taking control? Biting you? Making you mine?"

Antok looked slightly nervous, "W-well, when the power dynamic shifts like that.."

"Power dynamic? I like the way this sounds..", Haxus put himself over the buffer galra, rubbing his chest as he heard a purr begin.

"Ah, there we go. Imagine if I switched completely in bed, yes? If I held you at night?", he dropped himself just inches away from Antok's face.

"Or maybe if I put you flat on the bed, laying on your stomach..", he trailed his hands down, so close to touching his-

Antok's holo-phone buzzed to life beside them, a ringtone quickly accompanying it. Both of them silently laughed at it, this was happening more often as of late. Haxus looked over to see the words 'grumpy fuzzface' accompany a picture of a galra with red markings, a rare fur by all comparisons. Antok grabbed it quickly, kissing his boyfriend a few seconds longer before answering it.

"Kolivan, how are you? Oh shi- I mean, crap, that was today? No we're on our way now, no problem."

He quickly ended the brief call, turning over to see Haxus already getting dressed. A sigh of relief left him, until the realization that Haxus was already getting his shoes on when he looked way too casual for an open-application.

"Haxus, sweetie, I was gonna let it be a surprise but I need you to look like you're going to an interview."

The boy stopped, ears drooping down as he looked back in annoyance.

"Yeah, sorry that it turned out like this. Do you have any formal shirts?", Antok asked as he held a smaller hand.

"Darker pants and a few shirts meant for a service, no suits unfortunately", Haxus lightly squeezed the hand before looking through the drawers for what he needed.

"You'll look great, Hax..", Antok reassured along with a kiss to the cheek.

"I don't doubt it."

 

 

Antok had made several questionable decisions in regards to how quickly he would arrive. To say that Haxus learned to keep his seatbelt on would be understating it, the noise of a siren above him though faint through the metal. Normally he wouldn't see Antok as the type of person to abuse their position like that, then he remembered what love could do to someone. In a few minutes time a police station came into view fairly rapidly, equally quick for slowing down into a full-stop parking job.

"Oof!", Haxus said as he was thrust forward slightly, breath knocked out of him.

"Sorry! Ok, we gotta get going, we're pretty late to this", Antok practically shoved him out, lucky that Haxus had caught himself before falling.

"Can you give me a moment, please!", he annoyedly said, picking himself up and wiping the dust away.

"Sorry for this", Antok threw Haxus over his shoulder, running past a few other officers in full view of Haxus' distressed face.

"What are you doing?!", he said as he struggled to break free.

"Gottagettherenotimetotalk", Antok quickly said as he kept a steady breath.

"And just how far is-", Haxus felt himself being sat down in front of a tent set up outside the precinct.

The only one inside was Grumpy Fuzzface, or so Antok had named him on the phone. This was a man to be feared, someone who wouldn't tolerate weakness. Haxus had learned to pick up on such traits when facing against opponents in the arena, so given his current situation where he still felt riled at his boyfriend he showed his own strengths off. Turning around with the agility of a cat, his hand grabbed at the collar of Antok's shirt to pull him in eye level.

"We are dating but that doesn't mean you get to bounce me over your shoulder", to distill Antok's fear he quickly kissed him, "That being said I still love you."

"Is this the one you were talking about?", he heard Fuzzface say.

"Yeah", Antok replied as he tried to hide his blush.

"Not a very kind display to you", the stone-faced man said.

Haxus turned around and walked straight up to the man's table, "What I say to my boyfriend when he's suddenly thrust me into a job interview and then waving me around like a damn fool is none of your concern."

"A mouth on him too", Fuzzface said as Haxus felt like a spotlight was shining directly in his eyes.

Antok suddenly stood near him, "He's not usually like this, today was gonna be an 'us' day, so this interruption is-"

"Is perfectly understandable considering the position that police officers are usually put into", Haxus said as he sat down.

"Understandable how?", Fuzzface asked.

"In that anyone with a job and especially law enforcement must answer requests to come in."

"Hmm, mostly. If we give off-days they usually stay that way, still, your will to serve is admirable", the man extended a hand forward, "Kolivan you can call me."

"Haxus", he replied as he shook the other mans arm.

"So your boyfriend believes you're capable of working in the Marmora precinct. What do you bring to my table?", Kolivan crossed his hands and leaned forward slightly.

Haxus cleared his throat, "Though I appear smaller in frame to most other galra, I am more than able to bring larger opponents down. As you could tell with Antok, of course."

"Indeed, you're not the first arena fighter who's put in an application thinking it's all violence and games", the man said in hopes of deflating the boy's hopes.

Haxus kept his indifferent stare, "As you can tell I'm not foolish enough to believe police enforcement to be a fun hobby, in fact I hadn't even known I would be applying here."

"Wait", Kolivan's pause was spent to look at Antok, who looked like he would rather be literally any other place than with his boss.

"I...can explain, I uh..", he would've continued if not for Kolivan's hand stopping him.

"Later. Tell me, what do you expect here?", he asked as he faced the boy again.

Haxus thought for half a minute, "Paperwork? Traffic control? It really depends on what you need of me."

"Right, first thing I would need is for you to be put on a bulking diet", his hand signalled to Haxus' frame, the thin stature of it.

Haxus nodded, "Very well, I have no doubts that Antok would know just what to do."

"And before I let you into training, I have one question", Kolivan's smile slightly worried both galra, still Haxus kept himself composed.

"And that being?", Haxus wondered.

"What's your boyfriends opinion of me?", Kolivan's look turned hard.

Haxus thought of anything his boyfriend might've said about Kolivan, something maybe about his boss giving him hard work. Nothing came to mind, in fact Antok didn't discuss much about any friends from work. The only other thing was the contact information, little as that was..

Though it did provide a nice opportunity for revenge.

"Antok, your phone if you would", Haxus faced him and held his hand out.

"What for?", his hand hesitated to give it.

"You know exactly what for, that's why you're stalling. Please, I'm asking nicely..", he said in a beggar's voice, hoping it would be enough.

Antok sighed, "Fine.."

Haxus had learned the password some weeks ago, and the moment he'd unlocked it was spent getting to the contacts and finding Kolivan. Not Kolivan directly of course, but the pseudonym. Finally the icon came up, along with a picture that Haxus should've looked closely at before. It showed what appeared to be a drunk Kolivan holding a bottle of unknown alcoholic content, gleefully smiling with half-lidded eyes. A happy hum sounded from him, he slid the phone over to let the man look it over.

Kolivan frowned instantly, though his sigh told more of disappointment than it did of anger.

"We'll talk about this later", Kolivan displayed the embarrassing picture, name and all, to Antok as he flung it to his officer.

"Thanks a lot Hax..", Antok grumbled.

"You're very welcome", Haxus smugly replied.

Kolivan smiled to the boy, "Here's some papers to fill and sign out, and Antok will return them to me soon. Do you plan on coming after graduation? It wouldn't give you much of a summer vacation."

"Many of my friends are going off to college, it would be something to do. Antok would enjoy seeing me get stronger, wouldn't you dear?", his hand gently squeezed Antok's thigh.

"W-well, I'm more than glad to help if you really need some gym knowledge..", he said, nearly purring as Haxus let go.

"I thought so, and it was nice meeting you Kolivan", Haxus stood up to give another arm shake.

"Likewise", Kolivan replied, giving a strong shake to him.

 

Antok walked with Haxus excitedly, putting an arm around him while they went back to the car. Haxus thought it had gone well, and hoped to be able to train soon. It would be hard work, that was certain, still the idea of using his training in an arena along with police involvement made him eager to try it out. Only the feeling of Antok's tail whipping against his back could distract him, and laugh at the distraction he did.

"You're always beating me, is that your new kink?", Haxus playfully said.

"I already ordered the bdsm kit, taking you to all the leather clubs."

"Oh please, you taught me too much about that, I would just be a leather cub."

Antok snorted, "We're not very far apart in years."

"As if it won't be full of galra in their mid fifties."

Antok nudged him slightly, "Don't knock it till you try it."

Haxus frowned, his boyfriend giggling at the sight of finally overcoming his patience.

"Kidding, though really, I should take you out to a gay bar sometime. Well actually, not one of the seedier ones, the ones where it's kinda a mix of the boys and girls and there's less men that grope you."

Haxus blinked emotionlessly, "What bars were you attending?"

"Yeaaah, I looked for that type of crowd sometimes until I realized I'm not about that kind of scene."

Haxus kissed his cheek, "And we never would've met if you'd continued to go to those bars."

"Yeah, speaking of bars..how about bars for weights?", he pinched Haxus' arm a few times.

Haxus suddenly recoiled from that touch, rubbing his arm as if to hide it. Antok then remembered what had been marked on it, what Haxus had routinely covered with long sleeved shirts or a special covering ointment.

"Shit, Hax...I don't wanna force you to do anything. There's a lot of routines for working out at home if you want that."

"No, I'll do it in the most effective way. Take me to the gym."

Without another word they made their way to it.

 

 

'Prorok's gym'

Haxus stared up at the holographic sign, watching it flicker a few times and get miscolored for a few seconds. That bit of old technology amused him, only for less than a minute most times. Walking inside he saw several weights and exercise mechanisms. Designed to work the core, the arms, the back, the biceps, the whole deal as he looked at instructions for various positions. Not that he would ever let Antok hold it over him, but working out wouldn't be so bad. He'd never considered it his favorite thing to do in high school, yet at least it wouldn't be after a day of homework.

Only after a day of....studying for academy......

So it probably would drag on a little, still. Better to be stronger for the job instead of dangerously underwhelming.

"Hey Antok, who's your pal?", a deep voice said behind him.

"Well if it isn't 'Roky!"

Antok hugged the man, who looked as if he worked in construction on the side. The gym explained that away instead. He'd never really seen many other body types that conveyed a mixture of fat and strength so well together. It was as if this man competed in smalltime competitions on the side. Maybe he'd even ask Antok to bulk like that, maybe.

"This is Haxus, my boyfriend for a few months now", Antok slowly pulled Haxus forward, the boy managed a nervous wave.

"Names Prorok, I promise I won't bite. Not unless he invites me over, heh", the man said with a wink.

"Oh, uh, he's not really into that type of thing. We're pretty monogamous", Antok said as Haxus found himself blushing heavily.

Haxus cleared his throat, "Right, well, where do I begin the membership for this place?"

Prorok waved it off, "Oh, Antok can cover you. His membership includes anyone else on the house."

"On the house?", Haxus' ear flicked slightly in confusion.

"That's a story for another time and for him to tell you", Prorok said with a smug grin, playfully bumping an elbow against his friend.

"Prorok!", Antok was blushing now, his tail straightened out in irritation.

"Hey, you owe me a few falls after breaking some of my barbells last week", Prorok teasingly said.

Antok sighed, "...Well anyway, this is Prorok. As you can tell he's upfront with his intentions."

"Me? An old man? What could I possibly be upfront with when I'm talking to younger guys?", he laughed a bit at his own joke.

"Nice meeting you", Haxus quickly said and turned to go back to the car.

Prorok watched him leave and quickly changed his tone, "I uh...might've been a bit overbearing."

Antok shook his head, "No, it's...people make mistakes, I'm glad you own up to it. I appreciate it, I do, it's just he might take some time to warm up to any friendships right now."

"Crap, I'll tone it down for now. See you tomorrow", Prorok waved him off.

"Same to you."

 

 

Haxus sat alone in the car, staring out at the street next to him. He still felt like he was blushing, over such a silly comment. Unnecessary, and Antok had made that much clear. But to think that Antok had taken it or received was...

"Hax?", he heard.

"Antok!", his face burned more.

"Oh yeah...sorry about that. I used to have some flings with him now and then, don't you worry because I still love you so damn much to cheat on you", his arm pulled him closer, letting him give a long kiss to the cheek.

"You were right about one thing, he's very confident", Haxus laughed and turned to give a full kiss.

"That he is", Antok started the car and gave his boyfriend another quick smootch before driving home.

"So Antok, any reason why your membership is on the house?"

Antok blushed heavily, his ears shooting up at the memory of it all. Of course, Haxus would never be prepared to handle it on his own. He didn't even know if his prettyboy was into a daddy kink, or even older men in general. Gods, that night with Prorok was something else. Being a virgin at the time didn't help either, in fact startlingly similar to how he and Haxus ended up in that circumstance. The only difference being a lasting relationship instead of the now and then fucking, and with someone close to his age.

"Antok, you still haven't answered me."

Antok laughed once, "Tell you at home, not really sure if you're gonna like it but hey, honesty is important."

 


End file.
